Globe and Mail · Health
Open in new tab ↗

Catherine O’Hara died from pulmonary embolism, with cancer as underlying cause

Globe and Mail 10:01 PM UTC Mon February 09, 2026 Health
Catherine O’Hara died from pulmonary embolism, with cancer as underlying cause

Catherine O’Hara died from a pulmonary embolism, with cancer as the underlying cause.

A Los Angeles County death certificate issued Monday lists the pulmonary embolism, which occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery in the lungs, as the immediate cause of the actor’s Jan. 30 death at age 71. Rectal cancer was the long-term cause.

The oncologist who signed off on the certificate indicated that he had been treating O’Hara since March of last year, and last saw her on Jan. 27. She died at a hospital in Santa Monica, California.

Readers share their favourite Catherine O’Hara moments

From Schitt's Creek to Home Alone, here are five of Catherine O'Hara's greatest performances

The beloved Canadian-born comic actor and SCTV alum starred as Macaulay Culkin’s mother in two Home Alone movies and won an Emmy as the dramatically oblivious wealthy matriarch Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek.

Her death was a surprise to most, and an initial statement from her representatives said only that she died “following a brief illness.”

Collaborators including Culkin, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy and Pedro Pascal paid her loving tribute after her death.

The document said she was cremated. It lists her profession as “actress” and her business as movies. It said she practised her trade for 50 years.

Report an editorial error

Report a technical issue

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Andrew Saunders, President and CEO

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe.

If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. ","preambleRegistered":"Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe.

If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. ","preambleSubscribed":"Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff.

We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. That means:

If you do not see your comment posted immediately, it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly, generally within an hour.

We aim to have all comments reviewed in a timely manner.

Comments that violate our community guidelines will not be posted.

UPDATED: Read our community guidelines here

We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons or for abuse. All articles covering the Middle East are closed to commenting to prevent further misinformation and abuse in the comments. For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions.

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff.

We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. That means:

If you do not see your comment posted immediately, it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly, generally within an hour.

Subscribers who are logged in to their Globe account can post comments on most articles for up to 48-hours following the publication of an article on globeandmail.com. Closing comments after a short window of time helps to ensure effective moderation so that conversations remain civil and on topic. Comments may also be closed at any time for legal reasons or abuse.

We aim to have all comments reviewed in a timely manner.

Comments that violate our community guidelines will not be posted.

UPDATED: Read our community guidelines here

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff.

We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. That means:

If you do not see your comment posted immediately, it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly, generally within an hour.

Subscribers who are logged in to their Globe account can post comments on most articles for up to 48-hours following the publication of an article on globeandmail.com. Closing comments after a short window of time helps to ensure effective moderation so that conversations remain civil and on topic. Comments may also be closed at any time for legal reasons or abuse.

We aim to have all comments reviewed in a timely manner.

Comments that violate our community guidelines will not be posted.

UPDATED: Read our community guidelines here

← Previous Back to headlines Next →

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to leave a comment.