How did Catherine O'Hara die? Death certificate confirms cause

The official cause of death for Catherine O’Hara has now been confirmed, bringing clarity following the actress’s passing last month.

According to her death certificate, obtained by TMZ and issued by the Los Angeles County Health Department, O’Hara died from a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer listed as the underlying condition. 

She passed away on Friday, January 30, at her home in Los Angeles. She was 71.

Emergency services were called to O’Hara’s home at 4:48 a.m. that morning, after she was taken ill, according to Page Six. 

She had been hospitalised earlier in the day, and her agency, CAA, later said she died after dealing with a “brief illness.” Further details were not shared at the time.

Tributes quickly poured in following the news of her death, including a deeply personal message from Macaulay Culkin, who played her son Kevin in the Home Alone films and remained close to her throughout her life. 

“Mama. I thought we had time,” Culkin wrote on social media. “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.”

O’Hara’s career spanned more than five decades and left an indelible mark on film and television. 

She first rose to prominence as part of the original cast of the Canadian sketch series Second City Television, where she won the first Emmy of her career for writing. 

Her film breakthrough came with Tim Burton’s 1988 cult classic Beetlejuice, in which she played the eccentric Delia Deetz, a role she reprised in 2024’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

She later became a household name as Kate McCallister, the frantic but loving mother in the Home Alone films opposite Culkin. 

Over the years, she also became a regular collaborator of director Christopher Guest, appearing in Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration.

O’Hara experienced a major late-career resurgence with Schitt’s Creek, where she starred as Moira Rose alongside Eugene Levy, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy. 

Her performance earned her an Emmy Award in 2020, along with a Golden Globe and a SAG Award. 

During her Emmy acceptance speech, she said, “I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be herself.”

She continued to work steadily in recent years, appearing in The Last of Us and The Studio, earning Emmy nominations in 2025 for both roles.

She also lent her voice to animated favourites including The Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, The Addams Family and Elemental, and appeared in the 2024 action film Argylle.

Born in Toronto in 1954, O’Hara was the second youngest of seven children. 

She began acting at a young age and worked as a waitress at Toronto’s Second City Theatre before starting in her professional career. 

Over the years, she became known for blending sharp comedy with emotional depth, earning a reputation as one of the most respected performers of her generation.

O’Hara is survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, and their two sons.