(LifeSiteNews) — This past week, Hollywood actress Catherine O’Hara died after what is being called a brief illness. She was 71 years old.
Most Americans under age 40 would recognize O’Hara as having played the mom of Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McAllister character in the hit Home Alone movies. Her sometimes stern but also caring role was a perfect mix of a mom who knew it was her job to discipline her unruly child but also to love him when he needed it most.
O’Hara had a long and rather distinguished career outside of those two films. Born in Toronto in 1954, O’Hara worked in the industry alongside comedic legends like Gilda Radner and fellow Canadian John Candy. She would eventually eulogize Candy, who sadly died on her 40th birthday, during his funeral Mass at St. Basil’s Catholic Church in Toronto.
“John’s life had meaning. John had principles. He lived by them, he worked by them,” she said while dubbing him the “pastern saint of laughter.”
“God bless and keep his soul. I will miss him,” she added. “But I hope and pray to leave this world too someday and to have a place near God — as near as any other soul, with the exception of John Candy.”
Footage of O’Hara’s touching words have gone viral over the last 48 hours.
During a 1983 interview with Rolling Stone, O’Hara, the second youngest of seven children, recounted her upbringing.
“I’m pretty much a good Catholic girl at heart,” she said. “And I believe in family. I also have a basic belief that God takes care of me. I believe in prayer, even though I’m not that religious. I just have that foundation from my family. I mean when you think that you’re just a human being and one of God’s creatures, you can’t take anything that seriously.”
While it’s unfortunate to read O’Hara admit then that she wasn’t “that religious,” what was nice to see especially this week was footage of her that made the rounds on social media where she reiterated her love for family.
While making her way through an airport recently, O’Hara was asked what role she wanted to be most remembered for. In less than two seconds, she replied, with a somewhat emotional sound to her voice, “mother of my children.”
“Mother of my children”
Catholic family-born actress Catherine O’Hara, who passed away today, was once asked what role she would like to be known for, having acted in many legendary movies. pic.twitter.com/o0SuIShEuW
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) January 31, 2026
People magazine reported that O’Hara’s family is planning a “private celebration of life.” While one wishes that they would have said they were going to have a Catholic Mass with a priest, one can certainly see just how much O’Hara loved her family, especially her husband, whom she was married to since 1992 and never divorced. That is uncommon in Hollywood these days. In this sense, we can at least appreciate her witness to marriage and family during a time when those two things are under massive attack from the enemies of Almighty God. It would be good to pray for O’Hara’s soul and for more actors to love their family and spouse as much as she did.
