Catherine O’Hara Dead at 71, Report

By Daniel Arkin and Meriam Bouarrouj (NBC News)

Catherine O'Hara, the virtuosic comedic actor best known for her performances in the Christmas classic "Home Alone," the mockumentary "Best in Show" and the cult-hit sitcom "Schitt's Creek," died Friday, according to her manager.

She was 71. Marc Gurvitz, her manager, did not specify a cause of death.

In an entertainment career spanning more than 50 years, O'Hara excelled in playing characters who were cartoonishly larger-than-life but recognizably human, theatrically vain but ultimately endearing.

She got her start in Canadian sketch comedy, performing and writing on the landmark show "Second City Television," or "SCTV," before ascending to Hollywood stardom with roles in high-profile movies like Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice."

She frequently collaborated with mockumentary pioneer Christopher Guest, becoming a key player in his ensemble of expert improvisers. She appeared in Guest's beloved films "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind" and "For Your Consideration."

In recent years, O'Hara enjoyed a late-career renaissance and introduced herself to a new generation of television viewers as the daffy former soap opera star Moira Rose on "Schitt's Creek," a defining role that earned her an Emmy Award in 2020.

In her acceptance speech, she thanked the show's creators — the father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy — for "the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be her ridiculous self."

She also joined the supporting casts of the acclaimed Apple TV+ show business satire "The Studio" and the post-apocalyptic HBO drama "The Last of Us," adapted from a popular video game franchise of the same name.

TMZ is reporting actress Catherine O'Hara has passed away at the age of 71.

O'Hara was best known for her role's in "Home Alone" and "Schitt's Creek."

The cause of her death has not been released.

Stay with KTVZ News for urgent updates on this developing story.