Catherine O’Hara, the Canadian comedy giant who broke out on SCTV before conquering Hollywood with roles in films like Home Alone, Beetlejuice, and Waiting for Guffman—as well as an award-winning run on Schitt’s Creek—has passed away at the age of 71. Multiple media reports confirm that the actress died on Friday (January 30) after a “short illness.” TMZ was first to report the news of O’Hara’s death.

Born in 1954 in Toronto, O’Hara got her start as part of the famed Second City Toronto improv group in her town. There, she performed with future stars including Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and Eugene Levy. At one point in the early ‘80s, O’Hara was briefly hired by Saturday Night Live, but quit after just one week due to her loyalty to SCTV, the sketch comedy show created by Second City (she won an Emmy for her writing on SCTV in 1982).

O’Hara made her debut on the big screen in the 1980 rom-com Nothing Personal, and followed that with appearances in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours in 1985 and the 1986 Mike Nichols dramedy Heartburn, alongside Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. In 1988, she appeared in Beetlejuice as Delia Deetz, the drug-addled artist and stepmother to Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz.

Then, in 1990, O’Hara starred as Kate McCallister, the mom to Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin, in Home Alone. She also returned for the film’s sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, in 1992. O’Hara remained close with Culkin over the years, and she was there to support him when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023. After the news of O’Hara’s death broke, Culkin took to Instagram to write the following:

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By the late 1990s, O’Hara appeared in her first Christopher Guest movie, Waiting for Guffman. From there, she’d reunite with longtime pal Levy, and the duo would appear in additional Guest films like Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration.

In 2015, she returned to the small screen, along with Levy, for Schitt’s Creek, where she played Moira Rose, a former soap opera star. The role sparked a bit of a career resurgence for her, and she won a number of awards for her performance, including the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, six Canadian Screen Awards, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award.

She also guest-starred on the TV programs Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and 30 Rock, and had a starring role on Seth Rogen’s The Studio more recently.

O’Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, whom she married in 1992, and her two children.