Catherine O’Hara, ‘Home Alone’ star, dead at 71

(CNN) — Catherine O’Hara, the radiant actress whose singular comedic delivery helped elevate movies and TV shows like “Beetlejuice,” “Home Alone” and “Schitt’s Creek” to cult classic status, has died. She was 71.

A statement from CAA, the agency which represented O’Hara, said the actress died Friday “at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness.”

O’Hara got her start at Second City in her native Canada, before turning to film.

Her roles in “Beetlejuice” (1988) and “Home Alone” (1990) won wide acclaim. Soon, she turned to collaborating with director Christopher Guest, starring in many of his iconic mockumentaries, including “Waiting for Guffman” (1996) and “Best in Show” (2000).

In those films, O’Hara worked often alongside Eugene Levy, becoming a signature duo who went on to co-star in the acclaimed “Schitt’s Creek” together. As wayward posh actress Moira Rose, O’Hara’s one-liners were meme gold and earned her critical praise.

O’Hara won an Emmy in 2020 during a Covid-era ceremony that saw stars masked up and celebrating while scattered across the globe, with the action captured on 130 dispatched cameras.

O’Hara thanked creators Eugene and Dan Levy for “bestowing me the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be her ridiculous self.”

O’Hara also won a Golden Globe for her performance as Moira Rose in the show in 2021.

O’Hara was known for bringing a full commitment to her roles, with exaggerated voice work and a brilliant comedic sense of timing.

Most recently, she reprised her role as Lydia Deetz for the “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” sequel and played a felled executive in “The Studio,” for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for best supporting actress in TV this year.

O’Hara is survived by her husband Bo Welch and sons Matthew and Luke.

A private celebration of life will be held by the family, according to her agency.

This is a developing story.