LOS ANGELES — Catherine O'Hara, the comedy legend who starred in such classics as "Schitt's Creek" and "Home Alone," has died. She was 71.

O'Hara died at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness, her publicist at CAA confirmed.

No other details were available.

O'Hara was a huge figure in comedy for more than four decades. She first broke out in "SCTV," or "Second City Television," a Canadian sketch comedy series for which she earned an Emmy Award for writing in 1982 along with her "Schitt's Creek" co-star Eugene Levy. The pair's collaborations also include four mockumentaries directed by Christopher Guest (and co-written by Levy): "Waiting for Guffman" (1996), "Best in Show" (2000), "A Mighty Wind" (2003) and "For Your Consideration" (2006).

On "Schitt's Creek," O'Hara portrayed Moira Rose, the family's nonsensical matriarch and former soap star, for six seasons. Her portrayal landed her an Emmy for lead actress in a comedy series in 2020.

"I love playing Moira," O'Hara told The Times in 2019. "I just wanted to create a character that I could live with for more than one season, because I had never committed to one character for any length of time [before]."

When approached for the role, "it took me a few moments to commit," O'Hara told the Times in 2016. But "I already trusted Eugene as a writer and an actor, and as a good man who I could stand to spend time with."

O'Hara's prolific career also includes memorable turns in classic such as the iconic sculptor mom in Tim Burton's 1988 ghost comedy "Beetlejuice" as well as the stressed out McCallister matriarch in the "Home Alone" franchise. She also played Delia Deetz in the 2024 sequel, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

More recently, she has portrayed ousted studio head turned film producer Patty Leigh in the Apple TV comedy "The Studio" as well as widowed therapist Gail in HBO's survival drama "The Last of Us."

"Catherine really goes above and beyond in terms of what she brings creatively to whatever she's doing," Levy said of his longtime collaborator in 2016. "A lot of great ideas she brought to the role [like] the idea that Moira wears wigs that represent her different moods was just an amazing touch [that] opened up so many doors on this show."

O’Hara is survived by her husband Bo Welch and sons Matthew and Luke, along with siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O‘Hara, Tom O’Hara and Patricia Wallice.

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