As Hollywood mourns the loss of Catherine O’Hara, fans of the Home Alone star are looking back at how the late actress discussed the most important role of her life — mom.
“I’m proud to say, we all make each other laugh,” O’Hara told the Toronto Star in 2007 of life with her sons Matthew and Luke, who she shared with her husband, Bo Welch.
“In my home, growing up — I learned that from my parents,” she continued at the time. “They made each other laugh to the end, God bless ‘em. How great is that?”
She added of her sons, “They’re very funny, and we encourage it. The older one does Warners cartoon bits, really old-fashioned, cheap-a** funny vaudeville stuff. And the little one does word play.”
News broke on January 30, 2026, that O’Hara died at the age of 71. No cause of death was immediately given, though the actress was reportedly battling an illness and hospitalized in “serious condition” prior to her death.
Despite her successful career starring in some of the most beloved and iconic TV shows and films, including The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek and Best in Show, O’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 be,” she told 519 Magazine in 2019. “In deciding what work I might get involved in for my whole working life, my family’s always come first. I have two sons, and when they were babies, I thought, ‘What’s the point?’ What’s the point in having children if I’m not going to be with them, so that was always number one consideration and always will be.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about O’Hara’s thoughts on being a mom, as well as the insight she shared about her beloved family.
Her Limit for Working Away From Her Children
“I really didn’t work much,” O’Hara said during an October 2024 appearance on Julia Lois-Dreyfus’ “Wiser Than Me” podcast. “And I’d work in town. I remember the first offer I got to work, they were both…probably about 5 and 8, maybe 6 and 9. And I got offered a job in London.”
She continued, “And it was a six-week job, and we had a great nanny at the time. She wasn’t live-in, but she was great, great, great girl. She came for two weeks. I was alone for two weeks. They came back for two weeks, you know, got them out of school whatever. So I thought, you’ve always heard that with relationships, with couples, two weeks is the limit. It shouldn’t go longer than that apart, unless it works for both of you.”
The Point of Having Children
“I’m with my family as much as I can be,” the late actress told 519 Magazine in 2019. “In deciding what work I might get involved in for my whole working life, my family’s always come first. I have two sons, and when they were babies, I thought, ‘What’s the point?’ What’s the point in having children if I’m not going to be with them, so that was always number one consideration and always will be.”
Her Most Important Role of All
In a previous TMZ clip that went viral shortly after news broke of Ohara’s death, the actress said the role she most wanted to be remembered for was the role of “mother.”
“To my children,” she added, before adding that an “acting role” she most wants to be remembered for is the role of “his wife,” referring to her husband, Bo Welch.
“I’m kidding,” O’Hara joked of her husband.
The Existence of Laughter In the Home
“I’m proud to say, we all make each other laugh,” O’Hara told the Toronto Star in 2007 of life with her sons, Matthew and Luke.
“In my home, growing up — I learned that from my parents,” she continued at the time. “They made each other laugh to the end, God bless ‘em. How great is that? They’re very funny, and we encourage it. The older one does Warners cartoon bits, really old-fashioned, cheap-a** funny vaudeville stuff. And the little one does word play.”
Why She Was Happy to Portray a Mom On Screen
“In movies you can quickly establish yourself as one thing, you know? But at the same time, how can I complain?” O’Hara said in a resurfaced interview with MTV. “I was part of a really successful, fun movie. And it’s a very nice role to play, a mother, and I wish I had five kids in real life. I’m certainly old enough to, so who am I kidding?”
She added, “And I’m lucky that I’m seen as anything, so I shouldn’t grasp at wanting other opportunities.”
