Home Alone stars mourn Catherine O’Hara after her death at 71

Catherine O’Hara, who played Kevin McCallister’s mother in the 1990 hit Home Alone and its 1992 sequel, has died at age 71 after being rushed to the hospital in “serious” condition before her passing on Friday, her former co-stars said. O’Hara starred alongside Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Devin Ratray and John Candy in the original film and returned as Kate McCallister in Home Alone 2.

The report notes that John Heard died in 2017 at age 72. Macaulay Culkin paid tribute with a throwback photo and a side-by-side from his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023, writing on Instagram, "Mama. I thought we had time. 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." The article also recalls O’Hara telling Us Weekly in 2025, "He’s just a lovely young man. I just care about him. I care for him. I care about him. I’m so happy that he’s doing so well. … He’s got a lovely family, his own little family that he’s starting.

He is a sweet young man." Director Chris Columbus wrote on Instagram that he was "stunned and heartbroken," adding, "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.'" Columbus said, "What most people don’t realize is that Catherine carries the weight of 50% of that film.

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