Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin Mourns Death of “Mama” Catherine O’Hara

Catherine O’Hara always made Macaulay Culkin feel right at home.

Catherine O’Hara and Macaulay Culkin became close friends while playing mother and son in the Home Alone movies in the early 1990s. Their connection lasted for decades, until O’Hara’s passing on January 30th at the age of 71.

Macaulay Culkin, who starred alongside Catherine O’Hara in the “Home Alone” movies, shared a heartfelt message on Instagram following her passing. He wrote, “Mama. I thought we had more time. I wanted to sit with you and tell you everything I wanted to say.” He finished with a simple, “I love you. I’ll see you later,” and added, “I’m really upset about this…” in a comment.

Two years before O’Hara’s passing, the Emmy winner reunited with Culkin as he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“Home Alone was, is and always will be a beloved global sensation,” O’Hara said at the December 2023 ceremony. “The reason families all over the world can’t let a year go by without watching and loving Home Alone together is because of Macaulay Culkin.”

O’Hara praised the actor’s performance, saying, ‘Despite all the effort you put in, you made it seem completely effortless.’ He went on to explain that it felt like they had unexpectedly shown up at a young boy named Kevin’s house to film the movie, and he just happily joined in the fun.

O’Hara also commended Macaulay Culkin, who was just 10 years old during the release of Home Alone, for managing his sudden fame so well at a young age.

“How does anyone get through something like that?” she wondered. “I think it takes a special talent, something the wonderful writer John Hughes clearly saw in you, Macaulay: your ability to find humor in things.”

She continued, saying that he consistently brought a uniquely funny, slightly dark, and very relatable sense of humor to all of his work.

As family and friends remember and grieve the loss of O’Hara, here’s a tribute to her life through a collection of photos.