The Immensely Fantabulous Career of Catherine O'Hara

This really hurts, big time. On January 30, 2026, we all received the news that still hurts us: Catherine O'Hara passed away at the age of 71. An amazing, iconic, and talented actress with a career that spanned five decades, Catherine Anne O'Hara was born on March 4, 1954 (a Pisces, like myself) in Toronto, and it was in that same city that she began her comedy career with The Second City in 1974. Two years later, O'Hara began her eight year run on the sketch comedy series, SCTV, which was the original Canadian clone of Saturday Night Live and pre-dated another Canadian sketch comedy series, Kids in the Hall, by just over a decade and a half.

SCTV

The SCTV cast reads like a who's who, and that's an understatement. Other than O'Hara, there was John Candy, we all know that name. Eugene Levy, aka Jim's Dad from several American Pie movies. Andrea Martin, who has done a number of projects, but recently appeared on Only Murders in the Building. Dave Thomas, who has also done so much. Joe Flaherty, aka Donald the heckler from Happy Gilmore. And we Ghostbusters fans definitely know both Harold Ramis (Dr. Egon Spengler) and Rick Moranis (Louis Tully). I mentioned Only Murders in the Building; Martin Short was also part of that iconic, mostly Canadian (Flaherty was a Yinzer) cast.

SCTV aired for eight years between 1976 and 1984, airing not only on Canadian TV but also briefly on American TV, as NBC had the show from 1981-1983.

Beetlejuice

O'Hara's first film was 1980's Nothing Personal, which also featured a number of O'Hara's SCTV co-stars, but it would be eight years until she had her first truly memorable movie role. In 1988, O'Hara appeared in the iconic horror-comedy, Beetlejuice, playing the role of Delia Deetz, the stepmother of Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz. The original film came out on March 30, 1988, and starred Michael Keaton in the title role of "The Ghost with the Most." I finally watched this in its entirety a couple of years ago, and O'Hara played Delia's well-meaning arrogance very well, and she definitely nailed the famous "Day-O" scene to perfection!

The long awaited sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, was theatrically released on September 6, 2024, and hit HBO Max exactly three months later. O'Hara was one of three actors from the original to return (Keaton and Ryder were the others), and the sequel's cast also included Justin Theroux, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, and Monica Bellucci.

Home Alone

What can I say about Home Alone that I haven't said on a loop to others? Home Alone is one of the greatest holiday films of all time; I make sure to watch at least the first two films every holiday season. The first film hit theaters on November 16, 1990, and featured O'Hara as Kate McAllister, the matriarch of an oversized family whose young centerpiece was Macaulay Culkin's Kevin McAllister, the young boy who is inadvertently left alone in the house while his family is off to a Paris vacation.

Unsurprisingly, O'Hara showed out in this classic, and two scenes come to mind. One: "There are 15 people in the house and you're the only one who's causing trouble." That was Kate's line to Kevin as she dragged him after Kevin rightfully shoved Buzz for scarfing Kevin's cheese pizza. But the rendition of the line is the one that replayed as Kevin realized he was alone in the house, as it was one of many replayed instances of his famiy ragging on him, and Kevin later gets that mischievous "I can do whatever the hell I want" look on his face. Second, of course, her "Kevin!" moment when she finally realizes that he's left at home alone.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

I wanted to combine the two films in one topic, but I had to separate them. One reason is, well, I can't help but love O'Hara's hairstyle in the sequel. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York came out in theaters on November 20, 1992, just over two years after the first film. In this film, we see O'Hara's Kate McCallister with a glammed-up and cropped hairstyle that I always love every time I watch this film, which has the family set on vacationing in Miami. However, Kevin takes the wrong plane and heads to the Big Apple, where he encounters a pair of odious and criminal people, and no, I'm not talking about Harry and Marv (who did return, BTW).

Of course, O'Hara's "Kevin!" moment is another reason, and it topped the first film. For one, it was louder, and secondly, she hilariously faints afterwards. Other than O'Hara and Culkin, both films featured the late, great John Heard as Peter McAllister, as well as Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as Harry and Marv, respectively. The first film featured John Candy in an uncredited role, and Tim Curry and Brenda Fricker were featured in the sequel.

Schitt's Creek

I mentioned Saturday Night Live; O'Hara hosted that show twice in 1991 and 1992, and I was surprised to learn that she also appeared during the final season of the UK Whose Line is it Anyway? in 1998 (the year that the show permanently moved to the US). It would be in 2015 that O'Hara began her stint as Moira Rose on the hit Canadian sitcom, Schitt's Creek, which was co-created by Eugene Levy (O'Hara's SCTV co-star) and his son, Dan Levy. O'Hara's Moira Rose is a former soap actress and the wife of Johnny Rose (played by the elder Levy), a video store magnate. The younger Levy plays the couple's son, David, and the series also features Annie Murphy as the couple's daughter, Alexis.

The plot centers on the family's fall from grace after their business manager makes off with their fortune, forcing them to move to the titular (fictional) small town of Schitt's Creek. The series aired on CBC in Canada and on PopTV here in the States, and lasted six seasons. I remember seeing promos for this, and I definitely need to watch this show.

Other Works

I've seen quite a bit of Catherine O'Hara's works, which also includes the 2002 comedy Orange County, as well as one of my favorite animated films, Over the Hedge, which saw O'Hara working alongside Eugene Levy again. However, I have to mention this. It's clear that O'Hara really loved her Home Alone role, because in 2021, we see O'Hara in a commercial for Chase with comedian Kevin Hart, and the film sees O'Hara searching for Hart, while shouting her iconic "Kevin!" line. We saw a bit of a sequel in 2024, and it saw the "Kevin!" line turned up with the added appearances of NBA legend Kevin Garnett, as well as Macaulay Culkin himself.

In Closing

Catherine O'Hara was definitely one of the greats in Hollywood, and I am among many fans who appreciate her many, many contributions. I have heard stories about a third Beetlejuice film being planned, and I truly think that if we do get a third film, we will see a tribute to O'Hara. Same goes for if we do get another film in the Home Alone series. Catherine O'Hara made us laugh on TV and film for five decades. We are all very grateful to O'Hara for everything she has done, and regarding myself, well, I'm definitely glad I finally watched the original Beetlejuice film, and I will definitely be hit in the feels the next time I watch Home Alone.

Thank you, Catherine O'Hara, for the many times you made us laugh and smile.