Seth Rogen Shares Heartfelt Tribute Following Catherine O'Hara's Sudden Passing
Seth Rogen has expressed profound devastation following the sudden death of his co-star and comedy icon Catherine O'Hara, who passed away at age 71 on Friday. The actor and comedian, 43, who worked alongside O'Hara in the award-winning Apple TV series The Studio, posted a touching tribute to the late actress, sharing a sweet photograph of O'Hara with a mischievous smile as she playfully poked him on the back.
"Really Don't Know What to Say"
"Really don't know what to say…" Rogen began his emotional social media post. "I told O'Hara when I first met her I thought she was the funniest person I'd ever had the pleasure of watching on screen." He revealed that her memorable role as Macaulay Culkin's mother in the 1990 holiday blockbuster Home Alone had directly inspired his own filmmaking journey. "Home Alone was the movie that made me want to make movies. Getting to work with her was a true honour," Rogen wrote.
He continued, praising her character both on and off screen: "She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous… she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We're all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it."
Co-Star Ike Barinholtz Joins in Mourning
Ike Barinholtz, who also starred alongside O'Hara in The Studio, expressed his deep sorrow in a separate statement shared on Instagram. Alongside a photograph of the pair standing together on a staircase, he penned: "I never in a million years thought I would get to work with Catherine O'Hara let alone become friends with her. So profoundly sad she's somewhere else now. So incredibly grateful I got to spend the time I did with her. Thank you Catherine, I love you."
O'Hara's role as Patty Leigh on The Studio—which debuted on Apple TV in March 2025—was one of her final screen performances. On the show, Patty, a high-powered Hollywood executive, served as a mentor to Rogen's character, Matt Remick, with the pair developing a similarly strong bond off screen.
Details of Her Final Hours
Catherine O'Hara was rushed to hospital after suffering a medical emergency at her Los Angeles home on Friday morning, prior to her sudden death. According to dispatch audio obtained by the Daily Mail, the Home Alone star was experiencing "difficulty breathing" before emergency services were called.
First responders were dispatched to O'Hara's Brentwood home at approximately 5 AM on Friday. The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed she was transported to a nearby hospital in serious condition. Within hours, the beloved actress was declared dead. Her cause of death has not been officially disclosed at this time.
A statement from CAA, the agency that represented O'Hara, indicated the actress died Friday "at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness." An LAFD spokesperson told the Daily Mail: "At 4:48 am we responded to a request for medical aid to that address and transported an approximately 70-year-old female in serious condition."
A Storied Career and Lasting Legacy
A Toronto native, Catherine O'Hara first gained prominence as a member of the legendary SCTV cast, helping launch the careers of comedy icons including John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Rick Moranis. She became a household name playing Macaulay Culkin's mother in the first two Home Alone films and later charmed global audiences with her eccentric portrayal of Moira Rose across all 80 episodes of Schitt's Creek.
Her comedic brilliance was also showcased in Christopher Guest's celebrated mockumentaries such as Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003), alongside memorable roles in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice.
Over the past decade, she experienced a significant career resurgence with Schitt's Creek, earning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2020 for her role as Moira Rose. Her talent extended seamlessly between comedy and drama, with 2025's The Studio highlighting her versatile abilities.
O'Hara's awards résumé was formidable: she won an Emmy in 1982 for her work on SCTV Network and again in 2020 for Schitt's Creek, while accumulating eight additional nominations for acting and writing. In 2017, she was appointed to the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honours. Notably, in 2025 she received a rare double nomination, recognised for her guest role on HBO's The Last of Us and her performance in The Studio.
Tributes from Co-Stars and Family
O'Hara's last public appearance was at the Emmy Awards in September, where she appeared somewhat frail on the red carpet. She was notably absent from the 2026 Golden Globes on January 11, where she had been nominated for Best Supporting Actress on Television for The Studio.
As news of her tragic death spread, her Home Alone co-star Macaulay Culkin led tributes on Instagram with a heartbreaking post. He shared a split image—one from the classic film and another from a more recent reunion at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023—alongside the caption: "Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I'll see you later."
Catherine O'Hara leaves behind her husband of over thirty years, production designer Bo Welch, and their two sons, Matthew, 32, and Luke, 29. The entertainment world mourns the loss of a true comedic genius whose influence spanned generations.
