Catherine O'Hara, 71, looked frail during final red carpet appearance just four months before star's shock death

Schitt's Creek star Catherine O'Hara looked frail in her last red carpet appearance four months ago.

The Home Alone star, who died at home in Los Angeles on Friday at the age of 71, was thinner than usual when she was seen at the Emmy Awards in September 2025.

Even though the skirt portion was full thanks to layers of fabric, it was clear from the tailored top section that her arms and waistline were very slim. 

O'Hara also had a more slender face and neck as her strawberry hair was worn down in soft waves over her shoulders. 

Before that, the Hollywood veteran looked tiny in March 2025 at the Images Portrait Studio at SXSW 2025 in Austin, Texas. Once again, she was in a slimming black dress that was form-fitting. 

O'Hara seemed to have lost a significant amount of weight about two years ago. 

The Canadian-born O'Hara died at her Brentwood area home in Los Angeles 'following a brief illness,' according to a statement from her agency, CAA. Further details were not immediately available. 

The artist is survived by her husband Bo Welch and sons Matthew and Luke, along with siblings Michael O’Hara, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Maureen Jolley, Marcus O‘Hara, Tom O’Hara and Patricia Wallice.

A private celebration of life will be held by the family.

O'Hara became a household name playing Macaulay Culkin's mum in the first two Home Alone films, and she charmed audiences as the eccentric Moira Rose in all 80 episodes of Schitt's Creek.

Her comedic talent also shone in Christopher Guest's hit mockumentaries, including Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003).

Fans also remember her unforgettable turns in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice. 

The movie star was born in Toronto, Canada, and was one of seven children. Her first experience of acting was when she played the Virgin Mary in a Nativity play.

O'Hara worked as a waitress at the Second City Theater in Toronto after leaving high school. As a waitress, she came across the likes of Dan Aykroyd, and Joe Flaherty.

Speaking to People in 2024, the actress shared: 'I was lucky enough to watch everybody.'

O'Hara eventually joined the company in 1974. However, she later confessed to feeling anxious whenever she was on the stage.

She admitted to The New Yorker in 2019: 'My crutch was, in improvs, when in doubt, play insane. Because you didn't have to excuse anything that came out of your mouth. It didn't have to make sense.'

O'Hara eventually landed a role on a TV sketch show called Second City Television, which aired on NBC in the 80s. 

The actress became famous for her impressions of various well-known celebrities, including Meryl Streep and Brooke Shields.

She made her film debut in 1980, when she starred alongside the likes of John Candy and Eugene Levy in Double Negative.

In 1988, she starred as Delia Deetz, the stepmother of Winona Ryder's Lydia, in the hit movie Beetlejuice, which proved to be a huge commercial success.

And in 1990, she played Macaulay Culkin's on-screen mum in Home Alone.

O'Hara - who reprised her role for 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - told People: 'It's a perfect movie, isn't it?'

O'Hara's other roles included Best in Show in 2000 and 2003's A Mighty Wind, as well as the Beetlejuice sequel in 2024.

In 2020, O'Hara won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in the hit TV sitcom Schitt's Creek, which was created by Eugene and Daniel Levy.

During her acceptance speech, O'Hara - who also won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award - said: 'I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be herself.'