Catherine O’Hara’s Last Words Before Death

Catherine O’Hara joked that she was “dying” in an eerie interview a year before her death. O’Hara, an Emmy-winning actress best known for Schitt’s Creek, Beetlejuice, and Home Alone, died on January 30, 2026. She was 71 years old.

O’Hara passed away from a “brief, unspecified illness,” her manager confirmed. She’s survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, and her two children: sons Luke and Matthew Welch.

Before her death, the Los Angeles Fire Department received a call at 4:45 a.m. on January 30 for “approximately 70-year-old” woman at O’Hara’s home address, who was transported to the hospital in “serious condition.”

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times in 2025 less than a year before her death, O’Hara joked that she was “dying” after she was asked if she had felt like she’s had more power as an actor over the years. “I’ve been treated that way lately. Am I dying or something?” she said, while promoting her show, The Studio. “I’m not used to it.”

Her co-star, Seth Rogen, responded, “This is how we wanted to tell you.” He continued, jokingly referring to the interviewer, “This man is actually a doctor. This is a fake interview.” O’Hara’s other co-star, Kathryn Hahn, added, “It’s all set up.”

In her last interview with People in 2024, O’Hara looked back on her career and shared what she’s learned throughout her seven decades of life. “I’ve learned nothing,” she joked.

Since her passing, many of O’Hara’s co-stars and loved ones have shared tributes mourning the late actress. “Mama. I thought we had time. 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,” Macaulay Culkin, who starred with O’Hara in Home Alone, wrote in an Instagram post.

O’Hara’s Schitt’s Creek co-star, Ronnie Lee, also honored the late actress in a statement to USA Today. “The unmitigated good fortune of sharing space and work and laughter with the brilliance that was Catherine O’Hara is something that I will treasure forever,” Robinson said. “I am heartbroken for her family and all circles of her friends and loved ones. Oh Canada – what a loss. Thank you, Catherine, for everything you gave us before you left us. So much and so timeless that a part of you will always stay with us.”

Jennifer Robertson, who also starred with O’Hara on Schitt’s Creek, called her a “magical gift” in her own statement to the publication. “I am deeply saddened to hear we have lost Catherine. Being in Catherine O’Hara’s orbit was a beautiful, magical gift,” she said. “She was absolute star who never understood why people made such a fuss about her. Her passing is a loss for everyone who knew and loved her. My deepest condolences to Bo, her sons, and the O’Hara family.”