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Catherine O'Hara
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Catherine O'Hara

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Catherine Anne O'Hara was a Canadian and American actress and comedian, whose career spanned over 50 years. O'Hara started in sketch and improvisational comedy in film and television before taking dramatic roles to expand her career. She received various accolades including two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Her films have grossed more than US$4.3 billion worldwide. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017.

OverviewAI-generated

Catherine Anne O'Hara was a Canadian and American actress and songwriter. Born in Toronto, Ontario, on March 4, 1954, she began her work period in 1974. Her notable works include the films *Home Alone*, *Home Alone 2: Lost in New York*, *Beetlejuice*, and *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice*. She was recognized with a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, another Primetime Emmy Award, and a place on Canada's Walk of Fame.

She was married to Bo Welch and had two children. O'Hara spoke and wrote in English. She died on January 30, 2026, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, ending her work period that same year.

Synthesized by Vinony from 29 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Catherine Anne O'Hara (March 4, 1954 – January 30, 2026) was a Canadian-American actress and comedienne, who began her career at Second City Theatre in Toronto. She gained fame on SCTV alongside comedy icons like Rick Moranis and John Candy. Known for roles in films like "After Hours," "Beetlejuice," "Home Alone," and "The Nightmare Before Christmas," she was also renowned for her work in…

Known for

  • You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution... — Self (archive footage)2026
  • Marty, Life Is Short — Self2026
  • John Candy: I Like Me — Self - Actor, SCTV2025
  • SNL50: The Homecoming Concert — Self2025
  • The Studio — Patty Leigh2025
  • Tim Burton: Life in the Line — Self (footage)2025
  • Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — Delia2024
  • The Wild Robot — Pinktail (voice)2024
  • Argylle — Ruth2024
  • Elemental — Brook (voice)2023

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Female
Country
Canada
Active from
1954
Active to
2026

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Wikipedia views (30d)

246,226 total

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Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
Catherine
Family name
O'Hara
Gender
female
Citizenship
United States
Place of birth
Toronto
Place of death
Los Angeles
Spouse
Bo Welch
Occupation
screenwriter
Languages spoken
English language
Native language
English language
Notable work
Monster House
Field of work
television series
Instrument
voice
Mass
51
Image
CATHERINE OHARA.jpg
Number of children
2
Show 12 more facts
Commons category
Catherine O'Hara
date of birth
1954-03-04
name in native language
Catherine O'Hara
birth name
Catherine Anne O'Hara
start of work period
1974-00-00
writing language
English language
date of death
2026-01-30
end of work period
2026-00-00
manner of death
natural causes
cause of death
pulmonary embolism
medical condition
Situs inversus
Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

~12 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Catherine Anne O'Hara OC (March 4, 1954 – January 30, 2026) was a Canadian and American actress and comedian, whose career spanned over 50 years. O'Hara started in sketch and improvisational comedy in film and television before taking dramatic roles to expand her career. She received various accolades including two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Her films have grossed more than US$4.3 billion worldwide. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017.

O'Hara began her career in a starring role on the CBC Television children's television sitcom Coming Up Rosie in 1975, and came to prominence in the sketch comedy series Second City Television (SCTV; 1976–1984), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She gained acclaim acting in films such as After Hours (1985), Heartburn (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), Home Alone (1990), and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). She frequently collaborated with Christopher Guest, acting in his mockumentary films Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). Her voice roles include the films The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Chicken Little (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), Monster House (2006), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), Frankenweenie (2012), Elemental (2023), and The Wild Robot (2024).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Catherine O'Hara” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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