The Best of Catherine O'Hara: 10 Iconic Performances
From the eccentric halls of Schitt’s Creek to the manic holiday stress of Home Alone, Catherine O'Hara was just the best.
Catherine O'Hara in 'Home Alone'
We just lost what was probably one of the funniest women to ever live. She was an icon, and just her presence on screen brought a smile to anyone watching her.
O'Hara was born in Toronto, Ontario, and rose to prominence as a foundational member of the groundbreaking improvisational troupe Second City and the then the sketch comedy series SCTV.
She could disappear into eccentric and risky roles, finding comedy in every nook and cranny available to her.
And the roles she embodied would go down in history as some of the funniest ever put to the big or small screen. O'Hara had a long-standing collaboration with director Christopher Guest, and she produced some of the most indelible moments in the "mockumentary" genre.
It seemed like every decade delivered another legendary O'Hara performance, with the 2010s giving us the feathered-clapper-wearing matriarch Moira Rose on the hit series Schitt’s Creek, which got her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Catherine O’Hara’s influence on the world of entertainment is immeasurable.
Today, as a tribute, I want to look at ten of her roles that meant a great deal to me and to fans of her work across the world.
Let's dive in.
1. Moira Rose in 'Schitt's Creek' (2015–2020)
- Director: Various (including Dan Levy and Andrew Cividino)
- Writer: Dan Levy and Eugene Levy
- Cast: Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy, Chris Elliott
Hard to pick a number one, but I have recency bias and think this is arguably her most iconic creation. Moira is a former soap star with a vocabulary as elaborate as her wig collection. O’Hara’s bizarre accent and dramatic flair turned what could have been a caricature into a heartwarming matriarch.
2. Delia Deetz in 'Beetlejuice' (1988)
- Director: Tim Burton
- Writer: Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren
- Cast: Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder
Hard to imagine anyone ever touching what she did here as avant-garde artist Delia. O’Hara steals every scene she's in and becomes unforgettable during the "Day-O" dinner party sequence. She perfectly captures the "manic mother" energy that would become a staple of her collaboration with Burton.
3. Kate McCallister in 'Home Alone' (1990)
- Director: Chris Columbus
- Writer: John Hughes
- Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard
This movie would never work without a Mom who's at her wits' end, but one you never blame for leaving Kevin behind. It entirely hinges on O’Hara, who provides the emotional heartbeat of this holiday classic. Her frantic journey across the country to reach her son is the perfect mix of desperation and comedic timing.
4. Cookie Fleck in 'Best in Show' (2000)
- Director: Christopher Guest
- Writer: Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy (largely improvised)
- Cast: Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Jane Lynch
Catherine O’Hara is brilliant as a dog owner with a "prolific" romantic past, constantly cuckolding her husband, played by Eugene Levy. The running gag of her always running into former lovers while her husband looks on is a masterclass in improv comedy.
5. Sally in 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (1993)
- Director: Henry Selick
- Writer: Caroline Thompson (Screenplay), Tim Burton (Story)
- Cast: Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, William Hickey
The movie that defined all of emo culture in the '90s. O'Hara lent her voice to the stitched-together rag doll Sally. She brought a melancholic soul to this stop-motion masterpiece. Her rendition of "Sally’s Song" will stick with you long after you've heard it.
6. Sheila Albertson in 'Waiting for Guffman' (1996)
- Director: Christopher Guest
- Writer: Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy
- Cast: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey
If you were making a list of the funniest movies of all time, this would be on it. In this cult-classic mockumentary about small-town community theater, O’Hara plays a travel agent turned amateur stage star, and her audition scenes with Fred Willard are some of the funniest moments in film history.
7. Gail in 'After Hours' (1985)
- Director: Martin Scorsese
- Writer: Joseph Minion
- Cast: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom
Okay, this was such a small role, and yet you cannot look away from her as she steals this entire scene and runs with it. Despite only having about six minutes of screen time, O’Hara is unforgettable as a quirky ice cream truck driver who helps with a phone call. It's so wacky.
8. Mickey Crabbe in 'A Mighty Wind' (2003)
- Director: Christopher Guest
- Writer: Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy
- Cast: Eugene Levy, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer
This list will have a ton of Christopher Guest. Deal with it, O’Hara showed off her musical chops in this folk-music mockumentary that just rips. Her performance of "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" (which she also performed at the Oscars) is a rare moment of pure, earnest sentiment in a Guest film, and she's the only one who can handle that tone.
9. Marilyn Hack in 'For Your Consideration' (2006)
- Director: Christopher Guest
- Writer: Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy
- Cast: Harry Shearer, Parker Posey, Eugene Levy
In this one, O’Hara plays a fading actress who becomes hilariously and tragically obsessed with the possibility of winning an Oscar. She needs it so bad and is willing to do anything to get it. Her physical transformation as her character undergoes desperate "youth-enhancing" procedures is laugh-out-loud funny.
10. Patty Leigh in 'The Studio' (2025–Present)
- Director: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
- Writer: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez
- Cast: Seth Rogen, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, Bryan Cranston
Summing It All Up
It's hard ot sum up how big a star O'Hara was and how much she meant to so many people. She was amazing and provided so many laughs. She will live on through all her roles, and we will greatly miss her.
Let me know your favorite roles of hers in the comments.
