Catherine O’Hara was a Canadian comedic actor whose improvisational skills and ability to imbue her comic characters with depth and humanity brought her respect and a number of career-defining roles. O’Hara first garnered attention in the 1970s for the Canadian sketch comedy TV show SCTV, where she became known for her skillful celebrity impersonations as well as the memorable characters she created. On SCTV she worked with Eugene Levy, who became a frequent collaborator.
By the time SCTV ended in 1983, O’Hara was more widely known and began to get better roles, including secondary characters in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours (1985) and Mike Nichols’s Heartburn (1986). She then memorably played Delia, one of the unwelcome living owners of a haunted house, in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988); she also appeared in the sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). More notable films followed, including two Home Alone movies (1990 and 1992) and Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), and A Mighty Wind (2003), among others.
O’Hara’s notable TV credits include the sitcom Schitt’s Creek (2015–20), which was created by Eugene Levy and his son, David. O’Hara earned an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Moira Rose, a former soap opera star married to Johnny Rose (Levy). In 2025 she had guest roles on the TV series The Last of Us and The Studio.
Catherine O’Hara died in 2026 after a brief illness. She was 71 years old.