Catherine O’Hara Privately Battled Cancer, Death Certificate Reveals

Catherine O’Hara died after suffering a pulmonary embolism, while her death certificate also revealed that the actress had been battling cancer.

According to the death certificate from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, obtained by Rolling Stone, O’Hara’s immediate cause of death was a pulmonary embolism (a clot that stops blood from flowing to an artery in the lung). Rectal cancer is listed as an underlying cause.

It’s unclear for how long O’Hara had been battling cancer. Following her death on Jan. 30 at the age of 71, her reps said only that O’Hara died “after a brief illness,” declining to share specifics. The death certificate says O’Hara was cremated, with her ashes going to her husband, Robert “Bo” Welch. The couple’s cottage in the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario, Canada, is listed as the place of final disposition.

O’Hara was one of the most celebrated comic actresses of her generation. She emerged out of the Toronto chapter of the Second City, first garnering attention on the improv and sketch troupe’s hit series, SCTV. She went on to make memorable appearances in an array of movies, including the Home Alone series, Beetlejuice, and Martin Scorsese’s After Hours.

O’Hara was also a stalwart member of Christopher Guest’s ensemble casts, appearing in many of his celebrated comedies, like Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration.

More recently, O’Hara earned wide acclaim (and several awards) for her performance as Moira Rose on the hit TV series Schitt’s Creek. Just last year, she received additional Emmy nominations for her work on The Studio and The Last of Us.

Following her death, tributes have poured in from O’Hara’s myriad co-stars, peers, and fans, including Guest, Scorsese, Eugene and Dan Levy, Seth Rogen, Martin Short, and Steve Martin.