Catherine Anne O'Hara OC (born March 4, 1954 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian-American actress of Irish descent.
She was a member of the Second City troupe in Toronto that would go on to create the sketch comedy series SCTV. She would have been a cast member with Saturday Night Live after NBC stepped in to retool the show following Jean Doumanian's tenure in 1981, but O'Hara decided to stay with SCTV. There is a long-standing story that controversial SNL writer Michael O'Donoghue scared O'Hara off by screaming at everyone for ruining the show and spraypainting the word, "DANGER!" all over her dressing room door, but O'Hara has gone on record and stated that she passed up being an SNL cast member because she wanted to stay loyal to SCTV, which was about to air on NBC in the early 1980s.
Since then, she has had done several movies, some of them having involvement from Tim Burton. Among her most well-known roles is playing Kate McCallister in the first two Home Alone films. She also stars as Moira Rose on CBC's Schitt's Creek, opposite long-time collaborator Eugene Levy. In 2020, O'Hara won Best Actress in a Comedy Series as part of Schitt's Creek's 2020 sweep of the Emmy Awards. She and Levy previously won in 1983 for writing SCTV.
Her husband since 1992, Bo Welch, is a production designer also known for working with Tim Burton.
Film and TV appearances:
- Anytown: Witch's Night Out — Malicious
- Argylle — Ruth
- Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses — Duchess Rowena
- Bartok the Magnificent — Ludmilla
- Beetlejuice — Delia Deetz
- Central Park — Gwendolyn Swish
- Elemental (2023) — Brook Ripple
- Extinct — Alma
- Frankenweenie — Mrs. Susan Frankenstein / "Weird Girl," / Gym Teacher
- Home Alone film series — Kate McCallister
- A Mighty Wind — Mickey Crabbe
- The Nightmare Before Christmas — Sally / Shock
- Orange County — Cindy
- Over the Hedge — Penny
- Schitt's Creek — Moira Rose
- SCTV — Various
- A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) — Justice Strauss
- A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017) — Dr. Georgina Orwell
- Skylanders Academy — Kaossandra (darrining Christine Baranski from the games)
- Sofia the First — Morgana
- When Marnie Was There — Elderly Lady
- The Wild Robot (2024) — Pinktail
- Wyatt Earp — Allie Earp
Tropes related to her works:
- Actor-Inspired Element: Suggested Moira Rose's fashion be inspired by Daphne Guinness and suggested that Moira wear wigs to suit her mood and have an unrecognizable accent.
- The Alcoholic: Is excellent at playing intoxicated characters
. - The Cast Show Off: Often is cast in roles where she is required to sing and show off her vocal talents.
- Harpo Does Something Funny: The dialogue on Schitt's Creek is tightly scripted, but O'Hara arranges the music for Moira's performances.
- Improv: Started at Second City, and she’s appeared in the Christopher Guest directed mockmentaries that are largely improvised.
- Irony as She Is Cast: Often plays mediocre singers and actors, when she herself is very talented at both.
- Large Ham: No matter the role, you can expect her to chew the scenery with gusto.
- Production Posse: Alongside Eugene Levy, she is part of Christopher Guest's ensemble. Also often works with Tim Burton's ensemble.
- Those Two Actors: With Eugene Levy, whom she has played opposite in many projects over the decades.
- What Could Have Been: She was cast in Season 6 of Saturday Night Live but dropped out before ever shooting any scenes for it, due to SCTV getting unexpectedly renewed and her not feeling comfortable on the SNL set.
