Fans were shocked when Catherine O'Hara died at 71 last month.
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The comedic actress appeared in the hit movies Home Alone and Beetlejuice. She would go on to win an Emmy Award in 2020 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Moira Rose on the sitcom Schitt's Creek.
While a statement from her agency, CAA, said the actress suffered from a "brief illness," we now have more details on O'Hara's cause of death.
What Was the Cause of Catherine O'Hara's Death?
Per her death certificate, released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office on Feb. 8, O'Hara died from a pulmonary embolism with an underlying cause of rectal cancer. Her cancer diagnosis was previously unknown to the public. The news was reported by The New York Times.
Per the Mayo Clinic, a pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to an artery in the lung. Symptoms can include sudden shortness of breath, sharp chest pain, increased heart rate, and coughing up blood.
O'Hara was cremated. Her ashes were given to her husband, production designer Bo Welch. She is survived by him and their sons, Matthew and Luke.
Tributes for Catherine O'Hara Have Been Pouring In
ABC News recently reported on the countless tributes to O'Hara. Seth Rogan, who worked with the actress on the Apple TV series The Studio, said O'Hara "was a hero to all of us, and we pinched ourselves every day that we got to work with her."
Martin Short, a fellow alumnus of SCTV, shared that he met O'Hara "when she was 18 years of age. And in all these years later, she has been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us worked with."
Eugene Levy frequently worked with O'Hara, most recently on Schitt's Creek.
"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," the actor said in a statement.
But perhaps the most touching tribute came from Macaulay Culkin, who played O'Hara's son Kevin in Home Alone.
"Mama, I thought we had time. I wanted more," he wrote. "I wanted to sit in a chair next to you."
He added, "I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I'll see you later."
