Remembering Catherine O'Hara: Her 10 Most Iconic Movie and TV Roles
- - Remembering Catherine O'Hara: Her 10 Most Iconic Movie and TV Roles
Christina IzzoFebruary 1, 2026 at 5:15 PM
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The comedy world has been rattled by loss the past year, from Diane Keaton to Rob Reiner, and January 2026 brings another heartbreaking blow: On Friday, January 30, beloved actress Catherine O'Hara died in Los Angeles at the age of 71, reportedly following a brief illness. (As of press time, the cause of death has not been officially announced.)
In the hours that followed the devastating news, tributes have come pouring in from the Canadian star's many collaborators (Home Alone co-star Macaulay Culkin, The Last of Us lead Pedro Pascal and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actor Justin Theroux among them) and countless fans who were moved to both laughs and tears by the Emmy-winning actress' screen work, a five-decade stretch of comedy excellence across both film and television.
In tribute to the late, great Catherine O'Hara, here's a look back at the performer's 10 best roles, from her sketch-comedy breakout on SCTV to her recent and hilarious turn in Apple TV's The Studio.
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Catherine O'Hara's 10 Best Movie and TV Roles, RankedThe StudioApple TV" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/JNba6gzZTFfvE1dllczGrQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02Njg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/de001bd11c5029167484867b0cacdb83>The StudioApple TV" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/JNba6gzZTFfvE1dllczGrQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02Njg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/de001bd11c5029167484867b0cacdb83 class=caas-img>Seth Rogen and Catherine O'Hara in The StudioApple TV (Apple TV)10. The Studio (2025)
One of Catherine O'Hara's last acting roles before her untimely passing was opposite Seth Rogen, Ike Barinholtz and Kathryn Hahn in the Apple TV+ satirical series The Studio, in which she plays Patty Leigh—a powerful Hollywood executive reportedly based on prolific producer Amy Pascal. O'Hara rightfully earned Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe nominations for her scathingly funny performance, but it remains to be seen how the comedy will tackle the loss of the legendary star as it heads into its second season.
Related:Catherine O’Hara Gives Her Bold Take on Comedy: ‘If It Offends You, Don’t Watch It’ (Exclusive)
Temple GrandinHBO" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Rl4xabuVv3ief7b.Fpc1wg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04MDU-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/7ad817593437e9279e61d088d17020e5>Temple GrandinHBO" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Rl4xabuVv3ief7b.Fpc1wg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04MDU-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/7ad817593437e9279e61d088d17020e5 class=caas-img>Catherine O'Hara and Claire Danes in Temple GrandinHBO (HBO)9. Temple Grandin (2010)
O'Hara was widely revered for her comedic sensibilities—from her improv strength to her quick wit—but she was just as adept in dramatic roles, as she so soulfully displayed in this 2010 HBO biopic, about world-renowned scientist and autism advocate Temple Grandin (played by Claire Danes). The Toronto-born actress garnered an Emmy and SAG nod for her sensitive supporting work as Grandin's Aunt Ann, bringing emotional depth and much-welcome levity to the drama.
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Some of O'Hara's best and most beloved performances are her riotously funny film collaborations with Christopher Guest, several of which you'll find on this list. The first of the bunch is this 2003 folk-music mockumentary, about three bands reuniting for a television performance for the first time in decades. Opposite her longtime pal Eugene Levy—who she starred alongside in SCTV and Schitt's Creek, among others—O'Hara gamely tapped into her sweet silliness and singing skills to play folk crooner Mickey Crabbe.
Related: Inside Catherine O’Hara & Eugene Levy’s Decades-Long Friendship
After HoursThe Geffen Company" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/0h7VqjuhTT9NxJszga85kQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD03MDY-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/891f657deabd5d7d08f61b3b67857dd7>After HoursThe Geffen Company" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/0h7VqjuhTT9NxJszga85kQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD03MDY-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/891f657deabd5d7d08f61b3b67857dd7 class=caas-img>Catherine O'Hara in After HoursThe Geffen Company (The Geffen Company)7. After Hours (1985)
One of Catherine O'Hara's smaller, but no less affecting roles is in Martin Scorsese's 1985 neo-noir After Hours, which follows the chaotic evening-long escapades of Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) as he tries to make his way uptown to meet up with the mysterious woman (Rosanna Arquette) who caught his eye earlier. O'Hara adds to the night's mischief as Gail— a Mister Softee ice cream truck driver—who ends up inciting a mob against the man. It's a brief, but memorable performance thanks to her sharp comedic timing and hilariously neurotic energy.
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The first of her Christopher Guest collaborations, the cult-classic mockumentary Waiting for Guffman sees O'Hara teamed up with Fred Willard as Sheila Albertson, one-half of a married couple of travel agents who are also amateur musical theater performers. O'Hara's deadpan delivery, absurdist improvisations and extensive musical skills are on full display here, making the couple's cringe-worthy audition of "Midnight at the Oasis" one for the ages.
The Nightmare Before ChristmasTouchstone Pictures" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/X3NwT3m8Y8OlK3eyCcqUfQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD03MDE-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/83a1c02cc8212974eadcd73cd0fd0f6a>The Nightmare Before ChristmasTouchstone Pictures" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/X3NwT3m8Y8OlK3eyCcqUfQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD03MDE-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/83a1c02cc8212974eadcd73cd0fd0f6a class=caas-img>Catherine O'Hara in The Nightmare Before ChristmasTouchstone Pictures (Touchstone Pictures)6. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
O'Hara proved she didn't even need to be physically onscreen to be unforgettable, delivering an iconic voice performance as the gentle ragdoll Sally in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. While movie fans mostly know O'Hara for her zanier roles, the gothic fantasy film finds the actress at her most earnest and hauntingly lovely. (Fun fact: In addition to Sally, O'Hara also provided the voice for the character Shock!)
Catherine O'Hara: SCTV dropout is skating on same ice as Toller CranstonReg Innell/Toronto Star/Getty Images (Reg Innell/Toronto Star/Getty Images)5. SCTV (1976-1984)
Well before she was a movie star, Catherine O'Hara was a cast member of the famed Canadian sketch-comedy show SCTV, on which she starred with her fellow Second City comics John Candy, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin and Harold Ramis, among others. For the better part of a decade, O'Hara would pop onto the program and offer up pitch-perfect impersonations of everyone from Brooke Shields to Katherine Hepburn, solidifying her status as one of the comedy world's most gifted chameleons.
Related: ‘Bewitched’ Star Erin Murphy Shares Emotional Post After Catherine O’Hara’s Death
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Even among an all-star lineup of comic talents—we're talking Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Michael McKeon, Parker Posey and John Michael Higgins—Catherine O'Hara manages to stand out as eclectic dog owner-slash-trainer Cookie Fleck, whose chaotic romantic past hilariously complicates her and husband Gerry's (Eugene Levy) chances at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. O'Hara's physical comedy prowess is excellently utilized here, especially in a scene when Cookie dislocates her knee.
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Marking the first of several collaborations with Burton, Beetlejuicestars O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones as Delia and Charlie Deetz—the new inhabitants of a large country home that's being terrorized by a mischievous "bio-exorcist" named Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton). As the eccentric stepmother to Winona Ryder's Lydia, O'Hara is delightfully unhinged, no more so than when she's leading that infamous dinner-table rendition of Harry Belafonte’s “Day-o (Banana Boat Song).”
Related: Michael Keaton Pens Catherine O’Hara Tribute After ‘Beetlejuice’ Star’s Death: ‘This One Hurts’
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John Hughes's 1990 Christmas classic Home Alone is arguably O'Hara's most rewatched role, a yuletide favorite that has endured for nearly four decades, thanks to its sweet nostalgia, holiday hijinks and major laughs. We love Home Alone 2: Lost in New York just as much as its predecessor, but the original gets much of its heartfelt warmth from O'Hara's sweet connection to her onscreen son Kevin McCallister (played by Culkin), and plenty of playful humor from her polka-soundtracked scenes with old SCTV pal John Candy.
Schitt's CreekPop TV" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gn_yzdEcaZ0zmxlBORUcLw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04NTE-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/78e03c8fceec7c495ecc67dd5964c08d>Schitt's CreekPop TV" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gn_yzdEcaZ0zmxlBORUcLw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04NTE-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/aol_parade_744/78e03c8fceec7c495ecc67dd5964c08d class=caas-img>Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara in Schitt's CreekPop TV (Pop TV)1. Schitt's Creek (2015-2020)
O'Hara cemented her legacy as Moira Rose, the high-fashion, high-drama matriarch of the Schitt's Creek family and one of TV’s most iconic mothers. From those incredible vocal affectations (we'll never be able to hear the word "baby" the same away again) to the increasingly insane wigs (which Moira just might love more than her own children) to the sneaky vulnerability that the actress brings to the over-the-top character, the Emmy-winning role let O'Hara break out every weapon in her comedic arsenal. It doesn't get much better than this.
Next, Catherine O'Hara's Last Public Appearance Came Just Months Before Her Death
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
