Former child actor and star of “Home Alone,” Macaulay Culkin, has paid an emotional tribute to his on-screen mother Catherine O’Hara following her death at the age of 71. The pair struck up a close relationship after working together on the 1990 film and Culkin explained just how much she meant to him in his social media post.

Macaulay Culkin Posts Emotional Tribute to On-Screen Mother Catherine O’Hara

Posting to Instagram, Culkin paid tribute to O’Hara with an emotional message referencing the fact that she had played his mother in “Home Alone” and its sequel.

Posted alongside a picture of the pair when the film released and one of them together more recently, he wrote, “Mama. I thought we had time.”

He continued, “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.”

Catherine O’Hara Passes Away Aged 71

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According to a report from TMZ, O’Hara was rushed to hospital earlier this morning. The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that first responders had attended her home in the earlier hours of the morning before she was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

This apparently came after the actress suffered from a brief illness before she died.

O’Hara’s career spanned five decades and started with the sketch comedy series “Second City Television,” before she later had roles in “Double Negative,” “Beetlejuice,” and ““Home Alone.”

In 2020, she won the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for the role of Moira Rose in the hit series “Schitt’s Creek.” She also won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for the series.

More recently, she appeared opposite Seth Rogen in the AppleTV+ series “The Studio,” which earned her another Emmy nomination.

The ‘Home Alone’ Actor Leaves Behind Her Husband Bo Welch

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Outside of her work as an actor, O’Hara is probably best known for her long marriage to husband Bo Welch.

The pair met while they were working on the 1988  film “Beetlejuice” together, with Welch operating as a production designer. They were encouraged to date by director Tim Burton and later married in 1992.

They were together for more than three decades in total and shared two sons together. Matthew was born in 1994 while Luke was born three years later in 1997.

Catherine O’Hara was married to Bo Welch for over three decades. The beloved actress — who died in January 2026 at the age of 71 — met the production designer when she starred in Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Beetlejuice

Welch and O’Hara eventually got married on April 25, 1992. They welcomed their first son, Matthew, in 1994 and their second son, Luke, in 1997.