Catherine O’Hara has died at the age of 71, and tributes to the comedy and improv legend have poured in from across the entertainment world.
Macaulay Culkin, who famously played O’Hara’s son in the Home Alone movies, memorialized his on-screen mother with a heartbreaking note. “Mama. I thought we had time,” he lamented. “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.”
Michael McKean, who shared the screen with O’Hara in Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, called her death “heartbreaking,” adding, “[There was] only one Catherine O’Hara, and now none.”
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O’Hara’s Beetlejuice co-star Michael Keaton reflected on their working relationship: “She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.”
Tim Burton shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the set of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: “This picture shows how much light you gave to all of us. You were a special part of my life and after life.”
Seth Rogen recalled, “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. Home Alone was the movie that made me want to make movies. Getting to work with her was a true honour. 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.”
Pedro Pascal, who acted opposite O’Hara in The Last of Us, wrote, “Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always.”
The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin said that while O’Hara would likely “prefer that we keep laughing somehow, or at the very least not cry,” that is “not possible at the moment… It all hurts terribly. Goodbye, you legend… you wonderful, brilliant, kind, beautiful human being. We were lucky to have had you at all.”
Fellow The Last of Us star Melanie Lynskey shared her experience of crossing paths with O’Hara while filming 2009’s Away We Go: “So grateful I got to tell her what she meant to me — how she inspired me, shaped my sense of humour and understanding of the work we do, that she was the pinnacle of greatness to me. I’m sure every actor she met told her similar things. She did not behave as though she’d heard it a million times, she listened and accepted it with grace and wit and tremendous kindness.”
The Studio‘s Ike Barinholz expressed his own gratitude, writing, “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.”
“This is shattering news. What a wonderful person, artist and collaborator,” stated Ron Howard. “I was lucky enough to direct, produce and act in projects with her and she was simply growing more brilliant with each year. My heart goes out to Bo & family.”
Fellow comedic actor Kevin Nealon highlighted how O’Hara “changed how so many of us understand comedy and humanity.” He added, “From the chaos and heart of Home Alone to the unforgettable precision of Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, she created characters we’ll rewatch again and again.”
“What a terrible loss,” said Sandra Bernhard. “She was a class act: nuanced, humble, a total natural. She brought buckets of joy to this old planet. She will be deeply missed. She was an inspiration to anyone who fancies themselves humorous. A masterclass every time she stepped in front of a camera.”
Paul Walter Hauser described O’Hara as his “Meryl Streep,” continuing, “I could watch her in anything. Didn’t matter how good or bad the film or show was. I wanted to see what she would do… Not sure I can process or fathom that she’s gone but I am so grateful for the work she did and how she kept such a flawless reputation in a very sketchy and checkered business.”
Rita Wilson added that O’Hara was “a woman who was authentic and truthful in all she did. You saw it in her work, if you knew her you saw it in her life, and you saw it in her family. Bo, Luke and Matthew, our deepest sympathies. May Catherine rest in peace. May her memory be eternal.”
Only one Catherine O’Hara, and now none. Heartbreaking.
— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) January 30, 2026
This is shattering news. What a wonderful person, artist and collaborator. I was lucky enough to direct, produce and act in projects with her and she was simply growing more brilliant with each year. My heart goes out to Bo & family. #RIPCatherineO’Hara https://t.co/7pWcpYARai
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) January 30, 2026
Catherine O’Hara changed how so many of us understand comedy and humanity. From the chaos and heart of Home Alone to the unforgettable precision of Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, she created characters we’ll rewatch again and again.
— Kevin Nealon (@kevin_nealon) January 30, 2026
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