How Hollywood cries the loss of Catherine O’Harafans of alone at home star They look back at how the late actress spoke about the most important role in her life: motherhood.
“I’m proud to say we all make each other laugh,” O’Hara said Toronto star in 2007 of life with his sons Matthew and Lukewhich she shared with her husband, Good Welch.
“In my house growing up, I learned it from my parents,” he continued at the time. “They made each other laugh until the end, God bless them. How great?”
He added of his children: “They’re very funny, and we encourage it. The oldest does Warner cartoon pieces, very old-fashioned, cheap, funny vaudeville stuff. And the little one does puns.”
On January 30, 2026, news broke that O’Hara had died at the age of 71. No cause of death was immediately given, though the actress was informed. fighting an illness i hospitalized in “serious condition” before his death.
Despite his successful career starring in some of the most beloved and emblematic TV shows and moviesincluded The Nightmare Before Christmas, beetle juice, alone at home, Schitt’s Creek i The best of the showO’Hara made it clear that she always put motherhood first.
Catherine O’Hara
Frederic J. Brown/AFP“I’m with my family as much as I can,” he said 519 Magazine in 2019. “When deciding what to do for the rest of my working life, my family always comes first. I have two children, and when they were babies, I thought, ‘What’s the point?’ What’s the point of having kids if I’m not going to be with them, so that was always the number one consideration and always will be.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about O’Hara’s thoughts on motherhood, as well as the insight she shared about her beloved family.
Your limit to work away from your children
“I didn’t really work much,” O’Hara said during an appearance in October 2024 Julia Lois-Dreyfus“Wiser Than Me” Podcast. “And I would work in the city. I remember the first offer I got to work, both of them…they were probably about 5 and 8, maybe 6 and 9. And they offered me a job in London.”
He continued: “And it was a six-week job, and we had a great nanny at the time. She wasn’t living, but she was a great, great, great girl. She came for two weeks. I was on my own for two weeks. They came back for two weeks, you know, they were taken out of school, whatever. So I thought, you’ve always heard that with relationships, the two-week limit is longer than the partner limit. Unless it works for both of us.”
The point of having children
“I’m with my family as much as I can,” the late actress said 519 Magazine in 2019. “When deciding what to do for the rest of my working life, my family always comes first. I have two children, and when they were babies, I thought, ‘What’s the point?’ What’s the point of having kids if I’m not going to be with them, so that was always the number one consideration and always will be.”
His most important role of all
In a previous TMZ clip that went viral shortly after news of Ohara’s death broke, the actress said the role she most wanted to be remembered for was “mother” role.
“To my children,” she added, before adding that the one “acting role” she most wants to be remembered for is the role of “his wife,” referring to her husband, Bo Welch.
“Just kidding,” O’Hara joked about her husband.
The existence of laughter in the home
“I’m proud to say we all make each other laugh,” O’Hara said Toronto star in 2007 of life with his sons, Matthew and Luke.
“In my house growing up, I learned it from my parents,” he continued at the time. “They kept each other laughing until the end, God bless them. How cool is that? They’re very funny, and we cheer for it. The older one does Warner cartoon pieces, very old-fashioned, cheap, funny vaudeville stuff. And the little one does puns.”
Why I was happy to portray a mother on screen
“In the movies you can quickly establish yourself as a thing, you know? But at the same time, how can I complain?” O’Hara said in a flashback MTV interview. “I was part of a very successful and funny film. And it’s a very nice role to play, a mother, and I would like to have five children in real life. I’m certainly old enough, so who am I kidding?”
He added: “And I’m lucky enough to be seen as anything, so I shouldn’t hold on to wanting other opportunities.”