Catherine O'Hara facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Catherine O'Hara OC
O'Hara in 2024
Born	Catherine Anne O'Hara (1954-03-04) March 4, 1954 (age 71) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Citizenship	Canada United States
Occupation	Actress comedian screenwriter
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Bo Welch ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	2
Relatives	Mary Margaret O'Hara (sister)

Catherine Anne O'Hara OC (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She is known for her comedy work on Second City Television (1976–1984) and Schitt's Creek (2015–2020) and in films such as After Hours (1985), Beetlejuice (1988) and its sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). Her other film appearances include the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest: Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006).

O'Hara won the 1982 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for SCTV Network, the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1999 film The Life Before This, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the 2010 television film Temple Grandin. From 2015 to 2020, she starred as Moira Rose on the CBC sitcom Schitt's Creek, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Early life

O'Hara was born in 1954 and grew up in Toronto, Ontario, the sixth of seven children. She is of Irish descent, and was raised Catholic.

Career

O'Hara in 2005

O'Hara started her comedy career in 1974 as a cast member of The Second City in her hometown, Toronto. She was an understudy for Gilda Radner until Radner left for Saturday Night Live. Two years later, this theatre troupe created the sketch comedy show SCTV, for which O'Hara became a regular performer. In the late 1970s, she provided voice-overs for a number of cartoons, work which would continue throughout her career. During a short time in the early 1980s when SCTV was in between network deals, she was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981. However, she quit the show without appearing on air, choosing to go back to SCTV when the show signed on with NBC.

O'Hara began her career on television, apart from SCTV, in the mid-1970s. She first appeared on television in a small sketch role as a maid in a 1975 Wayne and Shuster special on CBC. She appeared in the 1976 television film The Rimshots, the children's television series Coming Up Rosie for a season (1976–77), and television specials, such as Witch's Night Out and Intergalactic Thanksgiving. Her performances on SCTV, which began airing locally in Southern Ontario in the fall of 1976, earned her fame in Canada. The show gradually built up a national and then international following in syndication. O'Hara left SCTV for a time, missing the 1980–81 season, but returned to the show in time for its pickup by the NBC television network in the US, when it became known as SCTV Network 90. O'Hara's work as a writer on the show earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding writing and two Emmy Award nominations. She left SCTV again prior to its fifth season in 1982, but did return for occasional guest appearances through the show's end in 1984.

O'Hara has appeared in a number of television series and television films and continues to work in television. During the 1990s, she made guest appearances on Tales from the Crypt, Oh Baby, Morton & Hayes and The Larry Sanders Show. She served as actress and director on Dream On and The Outer Limits, the revival of the '60s series of the same name. O'Hara has guest-starred on top-rated television series including Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In May 2008, it was announced that she had signed on to star in the upcoming ABC dramedy Good Behavior. Her role in the 2010 television film Temple Grandin earned her three award nominations: a Primetime Emmy Award, a Satellite Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

O'Hara's star on Canada's Walk of Fame

O'Hara has a successful career in film. She made her feature debut in the 1980 film Double Negative, which also starred her SCTV co-stars John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, O'Hara appeared in many supporting roles, including Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985) and Heartburn (1986). She appeared in films like Beetlejuice (1988) and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), as well as the blockbuster Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). Also in 1992, O'Hara appeared in the comedy There Goes the Neighborhood.

O'Hara continued to appear in many films during the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century. She received roles in four of Christopher Guest's mockumentary films, three of which earned her awards and nominations: Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). Her role in 1999's The Life Before This won her a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. She appeared in the tenth series of the UK version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? In 2006, she starred with Christina Ricci in the fantasy film Penelope. O'Hara has served as a voice artist in a number of animated films, including The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Bartok the Magnificent (1999), Chicken Little (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), Monster House (2006), Brother Bear 2 (2006), Frankenweenie (2012), The Addams Family (2019), Extinct (2021), Elemental (2023), and The Wild Robot (2024).

From 2015 to 2020, O'Hara co-starred as Moira Rose in the CBC sitcom Schitt's Creek, alongside Eugene Levy, with whom she had worked on TV, in films, and as a Second City cast member on stage in 1974. Her performance in Schitt's Creek earned her six Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She swept the five major TV awards for the 6th and final season, winning a TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.

She appeared as Dr. Georgina Orwell in the first season of the Netflix black comedy drama series A Series of Unfortunate Events, which premiered in 2017. Two of her episodes were directed by her husband Bo Welch who served as production designer for the series. She was the only cast member from the 2004 film adaptation to be re-cast in the TV series as well.

She appears on the revival of another Canadian sketch comedy staple The Kids in the Hall, in its second episode as Charlene, a Friend of the Kids in the Hall. O'Hara reprised her role as Delia Deetz in the Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in 2024.

Personal life

O'Hara with Welch in 2024

In 1983, O'Hara told Rolling Stone, "I'm pretty much a good Catholic girl at heart." O'Hara met production designer Bo Welch on the set of Beetlejuice. They married in 1992 and have two sons, Matthew (b. 1994) and Luke (b. 1997). Her sister is singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara; Catherine is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in Christopher Guest's film A Mighty Wind.

O'Hara was named honorary mayor of Brentwood, Los Angeles, for 2021.

She has situs inversus, a condition where major internal organs are reversed from their normal positions.

O'Hara maintains a close friendship with Home Alone co-star Macaulay Culkin, and was present when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame per his request.

She holds dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Wayne and Shuster	Various	Episode: "1975 Show #2"
1975–77	Coming Up Rosie	Marna Wallbacker
1976–84	SCTV	Various	Main; Seasons 1 & 2 Main; Season 4 (renamed SCTV Network 90) Guest; Season 5 Guest; Season 6 (renamed SCTV Channel) Also writer for seasons 1, 2, 4 & 6 Served as writer for The Best of SCTV
1978	Witch's Night Out	Malicious (voice)	CBC/NBC television special
1979	Intergalactic Thanksgiving	Ma Spademinder (voice)	Television short
1980	Easter Fever	Scarlett O'Hare (voice)	CBC television special
	From Cleveland	Various	Television pilot Also writer
	You've Come a Long Way, Katie	Chris Dougherty	Miniseries
1981	The Steve Allen Comedy Hour	Various	Episode: "May 29, 1981"
1984	The New Show		3 episodes
1985	George Burns Comedy Week	Sally	Episode: "The Dynamite Girl"
1986	Really Weird Tales	Theresa Sharpe	Episode: "I'll Die Loving"; also writer
1987	Trying Times	Rebecca	Episode: "Get a Job"
1988	The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley	Miss Malone (voice)	Main role
	Saturday Night Live	Herself	Episode: "Matthew Broderick / The Sugarcubes"
1989	I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood	Nancy Mae	HBO television special
	Andrea Martin... Together Again	Various	Television special Also writer for special material
1990	The Dave Thomas Comedy Show		Episode: "#1.5"
	Dream On	Irma	Episode: "555-HELL" Directed episode: "And Your Little Dog, Too"
1991	Morton & Hayes	Amelia von Astor	Episode: "Daffy Dicks"
	Married... with Children	Female Dog	Episode: "Look Who's Barking"
	Saturday Night Live	Herself / Host	Episode: "Catherine O'Hara / R.E.M."
1992			Episode: "Catherine O'Hara / 10,000 Maniacs"
	The Larry Sanders Show	Herself	Episode: "The Talk Show Episode"
1993	The Hidden Room	Laurel Brody	Episode: "The First Battle"
1994	Tales from the Crypt	Geraldine Ferrett	Episode: "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime"
1997	The Outer Limits	Becka Paulson	Episode: "The Revelations of Becka Paulson" Directed episode: "Glyphic"
1998	Whose Line Is It Anyway?	Herself	3 episodes
1999	Oh Baby	Roberta Hunter	Episode: "Discrimination"
2000	MAD TV	Woman on Blind Date	Episode: "24"
2001	Committed	Liz Larsen	Main role
2002	Bram & Alice	Ms. O'Connor	Episode: "Pilot"
	Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist	Catherine (voice)	Episode: "Bakery Ben"
2003	Odd Job Jack	Claudia Johnson	Episode: "Broke & Broker"
2003–05	Six Feet Under	Carol Ward	4 episodes
2009	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Bam Bam	Episode: "Funkhouser's Crazy Sister"
2009–2011	Glenn Martin, DDS	Jackie Martin (voice)	Main role
2012	Leslie	Leslie	2 episodes
	30 Rock	Pearline	Episode: "Governor Dunston"
2013	The Greatest Event in Television History	Muriel Rush	Episode: "Too Close for Comfort"
2015	What Lives Inside	Sarah Delaney	Miniseries
2015–2020	Schitt's Creek	Moira Rose	Main role Also consulting producer for seasons 2–6
2015	Modern Family	Dr. Debra Radcliffe	Episode: "Clean Out Your Junk Drawer"
2016	Sofia the First	Morgana (voice)	Episode: "Gone With the Wand"
	Harvey Beaks	Miley (voice)	Episode: "The New Bugaboo/The Case of the Missing Pancake"
2016–18	Skylanders Academy	Kaossandra (voice)	Main role
2017–18	A Series of Unfortunate Events	Dr. Georgina Orwell	3 episodes
2018	The Magic School Bus Rides Again	Aunt Tennelli, Teresina Tennelli (voice)	2 episodes
2019–2020	The Last Kids on Earth	Skaelka (voice)	6 episodes
2020	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?	Herself	2 episodes
2022	Central Park	Gwendolyn Swish (voice)	Episode: "The PAIGE-riarchy!" Performed the song "Light The Match", written by Danny Elfman
	The Kids in the Hall	Charlene	Episode 2
2025	The Last of Us	TBA	Season 2
2025	The Studio	Amy

Television films

Music videos

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Catherine O'Hara para niños