Macaulay Culkin was among the many stars who paid homage to his movie mom on social media after the death of Catherine O’Hara was announced on Friday.
The two-time Emmy Award winner died at her home in Los Angeles at age 71 “following a brief illness,” her manager confirmed to the Daily News.
O’Hara’s death came as a shock to those to knew and loved her, including Culkin, who played her son in the blockbuster “Home Alone” franchise.
“Mama. I thought we had time,” he shared on Instagram. “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.”
In a career that spanned 50 years, O’Hara starred in iconic films such as “Beetlejuice,” and “Best in Show” and series like “SCTV,” “Schitt’s Creek” and most recently “The Last of Us” and “The Studio.”
After appearing mostly on TV for the first decade of her career, the Canadian actress landed her breakthrough film role as Delia Deetz in Tim Burton’s 1988 “Beetlejuice.”
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Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara on stage at the 96th Academy Awards on March 10, 2024. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Oscar nominee Michael Keaton, who starred in the titular role, posted a tribute on Instagram, remembering O’Hara as his “pretend wife,” “pretend nemesis” and “real life, true friend.”
Following “Beetlejuice,” the pair worked together again on 1994’s “The Paper,” 2005’s “Game 6” and the “Beetlejuice” sequel in 2024.
“This one hurts,” Keaton wrote. “Man am I gonna miss her.”
O’Hara experienced another career boon after winning a Golden Globe, a SAG Award and her second Emmy Award in 2020 for her portrayal of Moira Rose in the hit Canadian sitcom “Schitt’s Creek.”
The series was created by and also starred Eugene Levy, with whom she’d been friends since the mid ’70s. The two worked together numerous times throughout their careers, including on “SCTV” and in four Christopher Guest mockumentary films.
The success of “Schitt’s Creek” led O’Hara to roles in HBO’s dystopian series “The Last of Us” and Seth Rogen’s “The Studio,” for which she was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series last year.
“Really don’t know what to say,” Rogen wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the two. “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 added that “Home Alone” inspired him to make movies.
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Seth Rogen and Catherine O’Hara attend the premiere of “The Studio” on March 24, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images)
“Getting to work with her was a true honour,” Rogen added. “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, O’Hara’s co-star in “The Last of Us,” posted a snapshot of the pair on set with the caption: “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.”
