Catherine O'Hara

Catherine O'Hara OC
O'Hara in 2005
Born	Catherine Anne O'Hara (1954-03-04) March 4, 1954 (age 67)[1] Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Citizenship	Canada
Occupation	Actress comedian writer
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Bo Welch ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	2
Relatives	Mary Margaret O'Hara (sister)

Catherine Anne O'Hara OC (born March 4, 1954)^[1] is a Canadian actress, comedian, and writer. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Genie Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and six Canadian Screen Awards. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018 and was honoured with the Governor General's Performing Arts Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award in 2020.^[1] O'Hara first drew notice as an actress in 1974 as a member of The Second City improvisational comedy troupe in Toronto. She landed her first significant television role starring opposite John Candy and Dan Aykroyd in the main cast of the sitcom Coming Up Rosie (1975–1978). The following year, O'Hara and Candy began work on the sketch comedy series Second City Television (1976–84), where she drew critical acclaim for both her work as a comedic actress and writer, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 1981.

O'Hara has appeared in several films directed by Tim Burton, beginning with the role of Delia Deetz in the 1988 fantasy comedy film Beetlejuice. Other roles she has portrayed in Burton films include the voices of Sally and Shock in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Susan Frankenstein and the Weird Girl in Frankenweenie (2012). O'Hara has also frequently collaborated with director and writer Christopher Guest, appearing in the mockumentary films Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006), her performance in the latter winning her the National Board of Review's Best Supporting Actress award and a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award. In 2000, she won a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for the crime drama film The Life Before This. She is also known to audiences for her role as Kate McCallister, the mother of Kevin, in the Christmas comedy film Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).

In 2010, O'Hara was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for her portrayal of Aunt Ann in Temple Grandin, opposite Claire Danes. For her work on the television series Schitt's Creek (2015–2020), she has won five consecutive Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and earned two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, winning in 2020.

Her other notable television appearances include the recurring roles of Dr. Georgina Orwell in the Netflix series A Series of Unfortunate Events and Carol Ward in Six Feet Under, and the voices of Jackie Martin in Glenn Martin, DDS, Miss Malone in The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, Kaossandra in Skylanders Academy and Liz Larsen in Committed. She has also hosted Saturday Night Live twice and made numerous guest appearances on sitcoms, variety shows, and late night television.

Early life[]

O'Hara was born in 1954^[1] and grew up in Toronto, Ontario, the sixth of seven children. She is of Irish descent,^[2] and was raised Catholic.^[3] She attended Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute, where she first met fellow comedian Robin Duke.^{[citation needed]}

Career[]

O'Hara started her comedy career in 1974 as a cast member of The Second City in her hometown, Toronto.^[4] She was an understudy for Gilda Radner until Radner left for Saturday Night Live.^[5][6] Two years later, this theatre troupe created the sketch comedy show SCTV, for which O'Hara became a regular performer.^[5]

In the late 1970s, she provided voice-overs for a number of cartoons, work which would continue throughout her career. During a short time in the early 1980s when SCTV was in between network deals, she was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981. However, she quit the show without ever appearing on air, choosing to go back to SCTV when the show signed on with NBC.^[7][8]

O'Hara began her career on television, apart from SCTV, in the mid-1970s. She appeared in the 1976 television film The Rimshots, the children's television series Coming Up Rosie for a year, and television specials, such as Witch's Night Out and Intergalactic Thanksgiving. But it was her performances on SCTV that earned her fame in Canada, which is why she returned to the show, not only as an actress but as a writer for both SCTV and SCTV Network 90, which earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding writing and two Emmy Award nominations. She also has written for SCTV Channel.

O'Hara has appeared in a number of television series and television films and continues to work in television. During the 1990s, she made guest appearances on Tales from the Crypt, Oh Baby, Morton & Hayes and The Larry Sanders Show. She served as actress and director on Dream On and The Outer Limits, the revival of the '60s series of the same name. O'Hara has guest-starred on top-rated television series including Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In May 2008, it was announced that she had signed on to star in the upcoming ABC dramedy Good Behavior.^[9] Her role in the 2010 television film Temple Grandin earned her three award nominations: a Primetime Emmy Award, a Satellite Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

O'Hara's star on Canada's Walk of Fame

O'Hara has also had a successful career in film. She made her feature debut in the 1980 film Double Negative, which also starred her SCTV co-stars John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty.^[10] Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, O'Hara appeared in many supporting roles, including Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985) and Heartburn (1986), with Meryl Streep. She had more notable roles in movies like Beetlejuice (1988) and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), as well as the blockbuster hit Home Alone (1990) and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). Also in 1992, O'Hara worked alongside Jeff Daniels in the comedy There Goes the Neighborhood.

O'Hara continued to appear in many films during the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century. She received roles in four of Christopher Guest's mockumentary films, three of which earned her awards and nominations: Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). Her role in 1999's The Life Before This won her a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. She also appeared in the tenth series of the UK version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? In 2006, she starred with Christina Ricci in the fantasy film Penelope.

O'Hara has served as a voice artist in a number of animated movies, including The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Bartok the Magnificent (1999), Chicken Little (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), Monster House (2006), Brother Bear 2 (2006), Frankenweenie (2012), and The Addams Family (2019).^[11]

From 2015 to 2020, O'Hara starred alongside Eugene Levy, whom she met on the set of Second City Television, as Moira Rose in the CBC sitcom Schitt's Creek. Her performance earned her five Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2020.^[12] She also appeared as Dr. Georgina Orwell in the first season of the Netflix black comedy drama series A Series of Unfortunate Events, which premiered in 2017.^[13] She was the only cast member from the 2004 film adaptation to be re-cast in the TV series as well.

Celebrities impersonated on SCTV[]

Personal life[]

In 1983, she told Rolling Stone, "I'm pretty much a good Catholic girl at heart."^[14] O'Hara met production designer Bo Welch on the set of Beetlejuice.^[15] They married in 1992 and have two sons, Matthew and Luke.^[16] Her sister is singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara; Catherine is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in Christopher Guest's film A Mighty Wind. She holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.^{[citation needed]} She currently lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband.

O’Hara was named honorary mayor of Brentwood for 2021.^[17] She has Situs Inversus. ^[18]

Filmography[]

Film[]

TV Series[]

Television film[]

Awards and nominations[]

O'Hara was selected for the inaugural 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50; made up of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists and creators who are over the age of 50.^[81]

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to Catherine O'Hara at Wikimedia Commons
• Quotations related to Catherine O'Hara at Wikiquote
• Catherine O'Hara at IMDb
• Catherine O'Hara at Northernstars.ca