More information is being revealed about the death of award-winning actress Catherine O’Hara.
O’Hara passed away on Friday, January 31, at the age of 71, following what was referred to as a “brief illness.”
While her exact cause of death remains unclear, it is known that the actress had been suffering from a rare health condition known as situs inversus. O’Hara opened up about the diagnosis of this condition in 2020 during an interview with Kathryn Hall.
“I’m a freak,” she joked at the time, noting that she found out that she had the condition 20 years earlier. It was the first time she had ever heard of situs inversus.
According to the National Institutes of Health, this is a condition in which “the arrangement of the internal organs is a mirror image of normal anatomy.” In other words, the organs of those with this condition are positioned in reverse rather than in the normal position.
This condition can occur on its own or alongside other health defects. While it is believed that genetics can play a role in the likelihood of developing this condition, its specific cause is considered highly complex.
At 4:48 am on Friday, paramedics were called to O’Hara’s Brentwood, California home. She was rushed to the hospital in “serious condition” and later passed away.
O’Hara’s tragic death comes as a shock to many, including those who worked with her over the span of her lengthy career.
Macaulay Culkin, who starred alongside O’Hara in Home Alone, turned to Instagram on Friday night to pay tribute to his on-screen mom.
"Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you," Culkin wrote. "I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I'll see you later."
Actor Eugene Levy, who was friends with O’Hara for decades before starring alongside her on the popular show Schitt’s Creek, also paid tribute to O’Hara.
“Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today,” he said. “I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years.”
“From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship,” he continued. “And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O’Hara family.”