Macaulay Culkin is paying a heartfelt tribute to his Home Alone costar Catherine O’Hara following the tragic news of her death at age 71.
The Emmy-winning actress’s manager confirmed to People on Friday, January 30, that O’Hara has passed away. At this time, no official cause of death has been disclosed.
O’Hara famously portrayed Kevin McCallister’s mother in the beloved 1990 holiday classic Home Alone, in which Culkin starred as the accidentally forgotten child. The pair reunited two years later in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
“Mama. I thought we had time,” Culkin wrote in an emotional Instagram tribute, sharing side-by-side photos of himself and O’Hara from Home Alone and a reunion in 2023.
“I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you, but I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later.”
Culkin, now 45, has previously described O’Hara as a mother figure during his childhood years on set, recalling how supportive she was while filming Home Alone and its sequel when he was just 10 years old.
The Canadian star later returned the admiration by supporting Culkin at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in December 2023. During her speech, O’Hara reflected on the passage of time, joking that Culkin was now “older than I was when I played his mother.”
“Home Alone was, is, and always will be a beloved global sensation,” she said. “Families around the world can’t let a year go by without watching it together — and that’s because of Macaulay Culkin.”
O’Hara, who also gained worldwide acclaim for her role on Schitt’s Creek, once shared a real-life parenting scare reminiscent of the film. In a January 2024 interview with People, she recalled briefly losing sight of her sons, Matthew and Luke, while riding the subway in New York with her husband, Bo Welch.
“It makes me sick to think what could have happened,” she said at the time, noting how the doors reopened just in time for the boys to rejoin them.
No further details regarding Catherine O’Hara’s death have been released. She is survived by her husband and their two children.