<\/p>\n
Catherine O\u2019Hara has died at the age of 71<\/a>, and tributes to the comedy and improv legend have poured in from across the entertainment world.<\/p>\n Macaulay Culkin, who famously played O\u2019Hara\u2019s son in the Home Alone movies, memorialized<\/a> his on-screen mother with a heartbreaking note. \u201cMama. I thought we had time,\u201d he lamented. \u201cI wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say.\u00a0I love you.\u00a0I\u2019ll see you later.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael McKean, who shared the screen with O\u2019Hara in Best in Show and\u00a0A Mighty Wind, called her death<\/a> \u201cheartbreaking,\u201d adding, \u201c[There was] only one Catherine O\u2019Hara, and now none.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Video<\/p>\n O\u2019Hara\u2019s\u00a0Beetlejuice co-star Michael Keaton reflected<\/a> on their working relationship: \u201cShe\u2019s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.\u201d<\/p>\n Tim Burton shared a behind-the-scenes photo<\/a> from the set of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: \u201cThis picture shows how much light you gave to all of us. You were a special part of my life and after life.\u201d<\/p>\n Seth Rogen recalled<\/a>, \u201cI told O\u2019Hara when I first met her I thought she was the funniest person I\u2019d 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\u2026 she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We\u2019re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it.\u201d<\/p>\n Pedro Pascal, who acted opposite O\u2019Hara in The Last of Us, wrote<\/a>, \u201cOh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always.\u201d<\/p>\n The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin said<\/a> that while O\u2019Hara would likely \u201cprefer that we keep laughing somehow, or at the very least not cry,\u201d that is \u201cnot possible at the moment\u2026 It all hurts terribly. Goodbye, you legend\u2026 you wonderful, brilliant, kind, beautiful human being. We were lucky to have had you at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow\u00a0The Last of Us star Melanie Lynskey shared her experience<\/a> of crossing paths with O\u2019Hara while filming 2009\u2019s Away We Go: \u201cSo grateful I got to tell her what she meant to me \u2014 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\u2019m sure every actor she met told her similar things. She did not behave as though she\u2019d heard it a million times, she listened and accepted it with grace and wit and tremendous kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n The Studio\u2018s Ike Barinholz expressed his own gratitude, writing<\/a>, \u201cI never in a million years thought I would get to work with Catherine O\u2019Hara let alone become friends with her. So profoundly sad she\u2019s somewhere else now. So incredibly grateful I got to spend the time I did with her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is shattering news. What a wonderful person, artist and collaborator,\u201d stated<\/a> Ron Howard. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow comedic actor Kevin Nealon highlighted<\/a> how O\u2019Hara \u201cchanged how so many of us understand comedy and humanity.\u201d He added, \u201cFrom the chaos and heart of Home Alone to the unforgettable precision of Moira Rose in Schitt\u2019s Creek, she created characters we\u2019ll rewatch again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a terrible loss,\u201d said<\/a> Sandra Bernhard. \u201cShe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Walter Hauser described<\/a> O\u2019Hara as his \u201cMeryl Streep,\u201d continuing, \u201cI could watch her in anything. Didn\u2019t matter how good or bad the film or show was. I wanted to see what she would do\u2026 Not sure I can process or fathom that she\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Rita Wilson added<\/a> that O\u2019Hara was \u201ca 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Only one Catherine O’Hara, and now none. Heartbreaking.<\/p>\n \u2014 Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 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<\/a>\u2019Hara https:\/\/t.co\/7pWcpYARai<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Catherine O\u2019Hara 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\u2019s Creek, she created characters we\u2019ll rewatch again and again.<\/p>\n \u2014 Kevin Nealon (@kevin_nealon) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n