Catherine Anne O’Hara would have turned 72 today. She died January 30, 2026 from a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer as the underlying cause.
I first saw Catherine O’Hara in 1989 with a VHS copy of Beetlejuice. We watched it as a family and it was a formulative moment. Catherine is on my mind not just because today would’ve been her birthday but Seth Rogen’s speech at the Actor Awards. Fuck Seth Rogen in general. The wonderously sad part was every person in the audience near tears.
From Christopher Guest movies, Home Alone, Dick Tracey, The Nightmare Before Christmas, notable appearances in Searching for Debra Winger, John Candy: I Like Me and Bettlejuice. O’Hara met her husband while filming Beetlejuice in 1992. They remained together until her death. They had two children.
She had two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017.
Happy Birthday
Read her final interview with People Magazine in 2024
