Catherine O’Hara Honored by Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy at the Emmys: What Happened
Catherine O’Hara was remembered in the Emmys In Memoriam segment by Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy. Here's what each of them said on stage.
Catherine O'Hara was remembered during the In Memoriam segment at the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, with an emotional tribute delivered by three of her most famous on-screen co-stars, according to ABC News (AP) and Variety. Macaulay Culkin, her son in the "Home Alone" films, joined "Schitt's Creek" co-stars Annie Murphy and Dan Levy on stage to speak about O'Hara, who died Jan. 30, 2026, at age 71, per ABC News.
What Culkin, Murphy and Levy Each Said
Each presenter focused on a different side of O'Hara. Culkin spoke about her as a maternal figure both on screen and off, saying she "wasn't just a wife and mother to Bo" — her "Home Alone" character's family — but that "she was my mom. She was our mama, and by extension, she's all of our mama," according to ABC News. He also recalled that O'Hara kept showing up for him decades after they filmed two "Home Alone" movies together, and he urged viewers watching at home to call their own mothers, per the same report.
Murphy, who played O'Hara's daughter Alexis on "Schitt's Creek," described O'Hara's laugh as a "perpetual 'yes, and,'" framing it as something that challenged the people around her to join in, ABC News reported. Levy, who played her son David and co-created the series, said the greatest lesson he learned from O'Hara was to "always say yes" — particularly when it came to trusting her creative instincts, according to the same account.
Why Home Alone and Schitt's Creek Both Came Up
The tribute drew from two distinct chapters of O'Hara's career, which is why fans of both projects felt it land. The segment referenced her role as Kate McCallister, Kevin's frantic mother in the 1990 original "Home Alone" and its 1992 sequel, connecting directly to Culkin's remarks about her as a maternal figure, per ABC News. Murphy and Levy's comments, meanwhile, spoke to her decade of work on "Schitt's Creek," where she played matriarch Moira Rose opposite them. Having presenters from both roles meant the tribute captured how audiences knew her across two very different periods of her career, rather than focusing on a single project.
What Else Happened During the Segment
The broader In Memoriam segment included a performance by musician Noah Kahan, according to ABC News. Variety's report frames the overall tribute as "emotional," a characterization from its own coverage of the segment rather than a direct quote from any presenter, per Variety.
What's Known About O'Hara's Death
O'Hara died Jan. 30, 2026, at age 71, according to ABC News, which reports the cause as a pulmonary embolism with rectal cancer listed as the underlying cause. Variety's report similarly states she died in January at age 71, per Variety. Among the sources reviewed, no additional detail beyond these two accounts was available on the circumstances of her death.