Catherine O'Hara (born 4 March 1954) is a Canadian-American actress, writer, and comedian. She first drew notice as an actress in 1974 as a member of The Second City improvisational comedy troupe in Toronto. She landed her first significant television role in 1975 starring opposite John Candy and Dan Aykroyd in the main cast of the Canadian sitcom Coming Up Rosie (1975–1978). The following year, she and Candy began work on the sketch comedy series Second City Television (1976–84), where she drew critical acclaim for both her work as a comedic actress and writer, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 1981.
O'Hara has appeared in several films directed by Tim Burton, beginning with the role of Delia Deetz in the 1988 fantasy comedy film Beetlejuice. Other roles she has portrayed in Burton films include the voices of Sally/Shock in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Susan Frankenstein in Frankenweenie (2012). O'Hara has also frequently collaborated with director and writer Christopher Guest, appearing in the mockumentary films Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006). In 2000, she won a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for the crime drama film The Life Before This. She is also known to audiences for her role as Kate McCallister, the mother of Kevin, in the holiday comedy film Home Alone (1990) and its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).
In 2010, O'Hara was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for her portrayal of Aunt Ann in Temple Grandin, opposite Claire Danes. For her work in the television series Schitt's Creek (2015–present), she has won four consecutive Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, the first of her career.
Her other notable television appearances include the recurring roles of Dr. Georgina Orwell in the Netflix series A Series of Unfortunate Events and Carol Ward in Six Feet Under, and the voices of Jackie Martin in Glenn Martin, DDS, Miss Malone in The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, Kaossandra in Skylanders Academy and Liz Larsen in Committed. She has also hosted Saturday Night Live twice during her career and made numerous guest appearances in sitcoms, variety shows, and late night television.
Ookiness
For the 2019 animated film, O'Hara voiced Granny Frump, who is deceased and only heard as a spirit voice during a séance.