Macaulay Culkin Pays Sweet Tribute to Catherine O’Hara Following Her Death

Macauley Culkin is paying tribute to his movie mom.

It’s been reported that Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek star Catherine O’Hara died Friday morning at 71.

Culkin took to Instagram to share a sweet tribute to O’Hara, who played his mom in both Home Alone films. “Mama. I thought we had time,” he shared alongside a side-by-side of the two of them from Home Alone and from his Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023. “I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later.”

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TMZ was the first to report O’Hara’s death, with her manager confirming the news to PEOPLE. According to Variety, the beloved actress died at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness. Additional details have not been shared.

Tributes have been pouring in for O’Hara since news broke. In a statement shared with THR, Home Alone director Chris Columbus said, “Today we lost Catherine O’Hara. I’m stunned and heartbroken, along with the rest of the world. I was an obsessive fan of Catherine’s brilliant comedic work on SCTV and was thrilled when she agreed to play Kevin’s mom in Home Alone. What most people don’t realize is that Catherine carries the weight of 50 percent of that film. The movie simply would not work without her extraordinary performance. Catherine grounds the picture with a profound emotional depth. I will miss her greatly. Yet there is a small sense of comfort, realizing that two of the finest human beings I’ve ever known, Catherine and John Candy, are together again, brilliantly improvising, making each other laugh.”

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Her Beetlejuice co-star Michael Keaton wrote on Instagram, “We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her. Thinking about Beau as well,” while Pedro Pascal remembered working with O’Hara on The Last of Us. “Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful,” he shared on Instagram. “There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always. The one and ONLY #CatherineOHara.”

Catherine O’Hara can currently be seen in Apple TV’s The Studio, which has been sweeping awards season. She is up for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for the 2026 Actor Awards, airing on March 1 on Netflix. Filming on the second season began earlier this month.