Catherine O’Hara Cause of Death: Pulmonary Embolism, Cancer

More details surrounding the death of Catherine O’Hara have come to light.

Nearly two weeks after news broke that the Schitt’s Creek star had died at the age of 71, her cause of death was listed as pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer as the underlying cause, TMZ reported, citing the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office.

Her talent agency previously shared in a statement to E! that she died in Los Angeles on Jan. 30 “following a brief illness.”

Nearly three weeks before her passing, the Home Alone actress was noticeably absent from the 2026 Golden Globes, where she was nominated for her supporting role alongside Seth Rogen in The Studio. In fact, her last public appearance had been during the 2025 Emmy Awards in September, where she was a double nominee for The Studio and The Last of Us.

Prior to her death, Catherine—mom to sons Matthew Welch, 32, and Luke Welch, 28, with husband Bo Welch—had disclosed a rare, though typically not life-threatening, heart condition called cardiac inversus, or dextrocardia with situs inversus, where a person’s heart and other internal organs are located on the opposite side of where most people’s organs are.