Catherine O’Hara’s career as an actress was one not to be forgotten. From her role as Moira Rose in “Schitt’s Creek” to Kate McCallister in “Home Alone,” Delia Deetz in “Beetlejuice,” and many more, O’Hara dedicated her life to acting before she died on Jan. 30, 2026.
Despite lighting up the screens with her humor and illustrious performances, O’Hara said just two years before she passed away that the one role she wanted to be remembered for was her role as a mom to her two kids, Matthew Welch, 32, and Luke Welch, 29.
When TMZ caught up with O’Hara in February 2024 at LAX, the beloved actress was asked, “You’ve been in so many legendary roles. When all is said and done, which one role would you most like to be remembered for?”
Catherine O’Hara on the 1 Role She Wanted to Be Remembered For
As O’Hara looked around the airport, pondering how to answer, she finally found the words. “Mother of my children,” she said.
When the reporter questioned O’Hara again, looking for her to dish on what acting role she would like her fans to remember her by, she still continued to put her family first.
“His wife,” she said with a laugh as she stood next to her husband, Bo Welch.
Throughout the years, O’Hara expressed the deep love she felt for her family. In a 2019 interview with 519 Magazine, the late actress talked about her intention to put her two kids and her husband ahead of her career — no matter what.
“I’m with my family as much as I can be. In deciding what work I might get involved in for my whole working life, my family’s always come first,” she shared. “I have two sons, and when they were babies, I thought, ‘What’s the point? What’s the point in having children if I’m not going to be with them?’ So that was always no. 1 consideration and always will be.”
Catherine O’Hara’s Real-Life ‘Home Alone’ Scare
GettyDespite her devoted attention to her sons, the iconic premise in “Home Alone,” where O’Hara’s character forgot her son Kevin at home during a trip to Paris for the holidays, even played out in her real life with Matthew and Luke.
In a 2024 interview with People, O’Hara recalled how she and her husband once boarded the subway in NYC without their two sons. “We turned around, the doors are closing, and they just weren’t on,” she told the outlet. “I screamed, and people screamed with me. Everybody joined in.”
Fortunately, the doors reopened for O’Hara’s two boys before it began to travel, but the “Where the Wild Things Are” star said that it made her feel “sick” to think of what could have happened if their family had been separated.
