Catherine O'Hara was part of the comedy group Second City in Toronto in the early 1970s, but now she's better known as the mom in Home Alone (1990) and as a familiar cast member of Christopher Guest's "mockumentaries." O'Hara was one of the original founders (along with John Candy and others) of the satirical TV show SCTV in 1976. In the 1980s she went into the movies and appeared in a variety of Hollywood comedies. Her notable roles include: the neurotic wife in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1987); the mother in Home Alone and its sequel (1990 and 1992); the voices of Shock and Sally in Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993); and the kooky ladies in Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006) . Her other films include The Paper (1994), Penelope (2006) and Where the Wild Things Are (2009).
She frequently appears in movies paired with fellow SCTV alumnus Eugene Levy.
Career Highlights: Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, Home Alone
First Major Screen Credit: SCTV: Season 01 (1976)
Biography
Catherine O'Hara was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, Ontario, though her heritage may or may not be a contributing factor to the strange quality she brings to her dry comedic style on the Hollywood screen. While the inspiration for O'Hara's forthright straight-faced demeanor is unknown, she is arguably a one-of-a-kind presence in many American films.
O'Hara began acting in her hometown in 1974, when she first appeared on Second City Television, where she distinguished herself through impersonations. She performed on the program regularly during the mid-'70s, and also wrote for it beginning in 1976. Later that decade, she continued her television experience with voice-overs for cartoons, an endeavor she would revisit throughout her career in some notable roles.
By this point, O'Hara was well established in American popular culture, and she continued to take on creative roles. Revisiting the bizarre darkness of Tim Burton's imaginative projects, she performed the character voices of both Sally and Shock in his animated feature The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993. Two years later, her voice-over credentials increased when she played Calamity Jane in Walt Disney's Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill. Her voice work continued throughout the 1990s, and in 1996, O'Hara expanded her appeal to include the indie-film world when she starred in what became a revered independent feature, Waiting for Guffman. In Home Fries (1998) with Drew Barrymore, she played the role of Mrs. Lever.
Satiric and campy, 2000's Best in Show showcased numerous strong performances, allowing for flamboyant and unique characterizations from all cast members, including O'Hara, whose pursed-lipped matter-of-factness instilled personality into Southern dog-owner Cookie Guggelman Fleck. In 2001, O'Hara appeared on the television shows Committed and Speaking of Sex, and she returned to the big screen in 2002 with a role in Orange County. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide
O'Hara was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario in a large Irish Catholic family.[1] She started her acting career at age 20 as a cast member of The Second City in Toronto.[2] She was an understudy for Gilda Radner until she left for Saturday Night Live. Two years later, this theatre troupe created the television series SCTV, on which she became a regular performer. Her memorable characterizations on the show included Las Vegas scorcher Lola Heatherton, buzzer-happy game show contestant Margaret Meehan, raunchy nightclub comedian Dusty Towne, soap opera seductress Sue Ellen and stage actress Sue Bopper Simpson.
In the late 1970s, O'Hara did voice-overs for a number of cartoons, which would continue throughout her career. During a short time in the early 80s when SCTV was in between network deals, she was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981. However, she quit the show without ever appearing on-air, choosing to go back to SCTV when the show signed on with NBC.[3][4][5] Her SNL position was then given to fellow Canadian Robin Duke, who had also replaced O'Hara for a season on SCTV.
A naturalized U.S. citizen,[7] she married production designer/directorBo Welch in 1992 and has two sons, Matthew (b.1994) and Luke (b.1997). She is the sister of critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara, though she is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in Christopher Guest's film A Mighty Wind. She has a condition known as Situs Inversus with Dextrocardia meaning that among other things, her heart is on the right side of her body.[8]
