Catherine O’Hara dead at 71, farewell to'actress from "Mommy Lost the Plane"

Catherine O’Hara, an actress famous for starring in “Mom, I Missed the Plane“ has died at the age of 71. Specifically. the death reportedly occurred on Friday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told TMZ, but they did not disclose the cause.

Catherine O’Hara was one of the most versatile and beloved actresses on the North American film and television scene, able to traverse comedy, satire and drama with ease during a career spanning more than four decades. Artistically born in the Canadian comedy milieu, she had made her film debut in 1980 with George Bloomfield’s Nothing Personal, but her international breakthrough came in the mid-1980s.

The general public discovered her thanks to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours (1985) and especially with Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988), a film that marked the beginning of a long collaboration with the director and made her an iconic face of cult cinema. Also unforgettable was her portrayal of Kate McCallister, Kevin’s mother, in the Mommy, I Missed the Plane saga, a role that enshrined her permanently in the pop imagination.

Along with film, O’Hara has built a solid television career, culminating in the success of Schitt’s Creek, the series that gave her one of the most memorable characters of her career: Moira Rose, a former soap opera diva and eccentric, irresistible mother. She has received numerous awards for this performance, including an Emmy Award in 2020 and a Golden Globe in 2021 for best lead actress.

In more recent years the actress has continued to work steadily, returning to the big screen in 2024 with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, once again directed by Tim Burton. In 2025 she appeared on television in the series The Studio and in episodes of the second season of The Last of Us, confirming her ability to renew herself and remain central to contemporary audiovisual storytelling.