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Catherine O'Hara is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is well known for her appearances in many roles on the TV series SCTV, as well as for her film roles as Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice (1988), Kate McCallister in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas and her various roles in the films of Christopher Guest.

She started her acting career in 1974 as a cast member of The Second City in Toronto. In 1976, this theatre troupe created the television series SCTV, on which O'Hara became a regular performer.

Memorable O'Hara characterizations on the show included Las Vegas scorcher Lola Heatherton, buzzer-happy game show contestant Margaret Meehan, raunchy nightclub comedian Dusty Towne, soap opera seductress Sue Ellen and stage actress Sue Bopper Simpson.

In the late 1970s, she did various voice-overs for a number of cartoons, which would continue throughout her career. She was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981 following Jean Doumanian's disastrous stint as executive producer. However, O'Hara quit the show without ever having made an appearance on it, primarily due to her shock after witnessing a long, loud diatribe by SNL writer Michael O'Donoghue. Her SNL position was then given to fellow Canadian Robin Duke, who had also replaced O'Hara for a season on SCTV.

She had an unusually dramatic role in The Last of the High Kings as a staunch Irish nationalist in 1970s Dublin.

O'Hara married Bo Welch in 1992. They have two sons, born in 1994 and 1997. O'Hara is the sister of singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara, though she is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in the 2003 film A Mighty Wind.

She is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

O'Hara can next be seen in her fourth Christopher Guest film, For Your Consideration. (following Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind).

Trivia

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Catherine is the sixth of seven children. (edit)
Catherine owns a cottage in Muskoka, Ontario (edit)
Catherine was crowned Queen of Comedy after her years as a regular on Second City TV. (edit)
Catherine's third generations are Irish and Canadian (edit)
Catherine learned to play the autoharp for her role in A Mighty Wind (edit)
Catherine gave a tearful eulogy at the funeral for John Candy (edit)
Catherine's sons, Dylan and Matthew, were born in 1994 and 1997 (edit)
Catherine currently has two children with her spouse Bo Welch. (edit)
Catherine will be starring in 3 more movies called The Great Farrell, Cat Tale, and Where The Wild Things Are (edit)
Wrote Second City TV (1976)'s famous sketch High-Q. (edit)

Quotes

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Catherine:I'm pretty much a good Catholic girl at heart and I believe in family. I also have a basic belief that God takes care of me. I believe in prayer, even though I'm not that religious. I just have that foundation from my family. I mean when you think that you're just a human being and one of God's creatures, you can't take anything that seriously. (edit)
Catherine: Character roles definitely age better than your ingenues. You don't get to keep doing that. (edit)
Catherine: I'm afraid of needles, except acupuncture needles. I wouldn't mind spending a little more time and effort and money on good skin care. And I'm sure they'll come out with, as they are doing, with more and more treatments that are noninvasive and healthy ways to keep your face looking as good as it can. But no. No! (edit)
Catherine: Night time really is the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours, because everyone is asleep (edit)
Catherine: I know. I'm lazy. But I made myself a New Years resolution that I would write myself something really special. Which means I have 'til December, right? (edit)
Catherine: I think the success of my work, stems from being truthful (edit)
Catherine: I lived in LA for a few months. It seemed like no one there had parents. Or if they did have parents, they would deny it (edit)
Catherine: I'm pretty much a good Catholic girl at heart, and I believe in family. I also have a basic belief that God takes care of me. I believe in prayer, even though I'm not that religious. I just have that foundation from my family. I mean when you think that you're just a human being and one of God's creatures, you can't take anything that seriously. (edit)
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