Remembering Catherine O’Hara’s Most Beloved Roles (Besides Home Alone & Beetlejuice)

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I was so incredibly saddened to hear about the passing of Catherine O’Hara. She was truly one of those performers everyone loved, and she brought such life to everything she did over her amazing 50-year career. A lot of people first discovered her on SCTV back in 1976 – it was Canada’s version of Saturday Night Live, and it was where she really started to shine. It’s funny to think she worked with John Candy on that show, knowing they’d later become iconic in Home Alone! She shared the stage with so many comedy greats there, like Eugene Levy (who, of course, became her husband on Schitt’s Creek!), Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, and even Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis. She wasn’t on SCTV consistently, but it definitely proved she was a hugely talented and versatile comedian who could really connect with an audience.

Catherine O’Hara had a remarkable talent for making even small characters memorable, like Texie Garcia in Dick Tracy and Gail in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours. She also consistently stood out in guest appearances on shows such as 30 Rock, Modern Family, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Beyond her iconic roles as Delia Deetz and Kevin McCallister’s mom, what were some of her other greatest performances? Let’s take a look at a few of them.

5) Patty Leigh on The Studio

Sadly, two projects in 2025 marked the end of O’Hara’s career, but she finished strong. Both The Last of Us Season 2 and the first season of Apple TV’s The Studio received excellent reviews. While she was fantastic as Joel’s therapist in The Last of Us, her performance as the fired studio head Patty Leigh in Apple TV’s The Studio was truly outstanding.

O’Hara perfectly captured Leigh’s chaotic spirit. We felt her pain at being overshadowed by her protégé, but she also delivered those emotions with a comedic touch, making the character both heartbreaking and hilarious.

4) Cookie Fleck in Best in Show

Catherine O’Hara appeared in the first four mockumentaries directed by Christopher Guest: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. Of those films, Best in Show is widely considered the strongest.

Catherine O’Hara is just brilliant, and that really shines through in Best in Show. She plays Cookie Fleck, a wonderfully eccentric woman competing in a dog show with her husband, Gerry (Eugene Levy). But the fun doesn’t stop at the competition – Cookie keeps running into a parade of ex-boyfriends, all still hoping to win her back! Gerry jokes she had ‘dozens’ of them, but Cookie herself claims it was ‘hundreds’! What’s so amazing is that, like all her work with Christopher Guest, Best in Show proves O’Hara hadn’t lost a single step when it came to improv – it’s like watching her SCTV days all over again, even two decades later. Her timing and delivery are just impeccable.

3) Geraldine ‘Gerri’ Ferrett in Tales from the Crypt

I’m a big fan of Tales from the Crypt, and while the early seasons are definitely the strongest, the Season 6 premiere is just incredible. It’s largely thanks to O’Hara’s performance that the episode, “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime,” stands out. It’s one of the few episodes that really nails the balance between funny and scary, leaning more into comedy-horror than straight-up horror, and it’s fantastic.

She portrays a lawyer who aggressively seeks out clients, and finds herself in court not for a serious crime, but for a faulty license plate. While a simple fine is typical, the town of Stueksville (pronounced ‘sticks-ville’) is known for its extremely severe and unusual punishments, especially if you dare to protest. It’s a place where public hangings are still practiced, making it the absolute worst location for someone with the quick temper and self-satisfied attitude of her character, ‘Gerri’ Ferrett.

2) Sally (and Shock) in The Nightmare Before Christmas

Catherine O’Hara has a dual role in the beloved holiday film The Nightmare Before Christmas. She plays Shock, one of Oogie Boogie’s mischievous sidekicks. Think of her as the leader of the trick-or-treat gang, just like Whoopi Goldberg’s Shenzi was to Banzai and Ed in The Lion King.

But beyond everything else, Sally is the emotional core of the film. Created by Dr. Finkelstein, she simply wants to experience life and the world for herself, and she’d love to share that journey with Jack Skellington. Their relationship is one of the most endearing in animated movie history, and much of that is due to O’Hara’s performance, which gives Sally a compelling mix of curiosity and determination that makes audiences instantly connect with her.

1) Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek

Catherine O’Hara had a rare talent: she could play characters who were deliberately dramatic and larger-than-life without ever seeming like she was trying to be. Her performances always felt authentic to the character she was portraying, like in roles such as Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice and its sequel, or Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek.

Moira used to be a famous soap opera actress and is used to living a luxurious life. When the Rose family loses all their money, she struggles the most to adjust to their new reality, and it’s incredibly funny to watch. Though her character is often snobbish, Catherine O’Hara’s performance makes Moira surprisingly lovable and relatable.

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2026-01-30 23:48