Catherine O’Hara made Moira Rose Schitt’s Creek’s unapologetic role model

Catherine O’Hara’s portrayal of Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek turned the former soap‑star matriarch into an unapologetic role model, refusing to shrink for others across the show’s six seasons. Moira was loud, vain, overly dramatic and draped in ever‑changing wigs, often uninterested in becoming relatable.

She stayed prickly and proud, grew more open‑minded but never truly soft‑hearted, and by refusing to smooth her edges became a blueprint for unrepentant selfhood on television. O’Hara’s secret weapon was playing delusion rather than superiority: the humor comes from Moira’s warped worldview.

The character brags about hosting the non‑televised portion of the People’s Choice Awards, claims to be the ingénue of “Andy Webber,” melts down over lost handbags, quarantines her family, pops pills like candy and hoards medication — all delivered without cruelty. That calibrated excess acted as a necessary counterweight to the show’s warmth.

Moira’s operatic reactions and awkward brushes with motherhood and friendship injected chaos into moments that might otherwise have drifted into schmaltz, forcing the series to work harder for its tenderness and keeping its emotional beats authentic. Moira Rose is also the culmination of O’Hara’s career — wigs as emotional armor, a distinctive voice and diction, and a knack for pairing sincerity with silliness drawn from Beetlejuice, Home Alone, Christopher Guest films and sketch work.

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