In the weeks since Catherine O’Hara’s death, those who knew her personally and those who have admired her work for decades paid emotional tribute. Then, on Valentine’s Day, her family and friends gathered to say goodbye and celebrate her life in a touching way.
It would appear that the actress’s funeral was held on February 14, per Kelly Lynch’s Instagram. She posted an image of a program that features the date of O'Hara's ceremony, and along with it, she added an image of the actress in The Studio, which will serve as her final project, as well as a throwback photo.
Adding to the sentiment, she quoted writer and poet Raymond Carver in her caption to pay tribute to her friend:
Rest in peace darling Catherine 💔And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so? I did. And what did you want? To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on the earth. - Raymond Carver
After the Schitt’s Creek actress passed away on January 30, an overwhelming amount of love and support has been shown on social media. There was no question how beloved she was before this; however, the tributes certainly emphasized the adoration many people hold for her.
Statements from Macaulay Culkin and more of her co-stars were quickly posted. And as her Schitt’s Creek family paid tribute, so did the cast of The Studio as reports came out about her involvement in Season 2.
Also, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s Jenna Ortega called O’Hara “one of the most beautiful people” she’d ever worked with. Meanwhile, Michael Keaton reflected on his friendship with the actress, whom he had known for decades.
So, considering all this love that was shown in the wake of her death, it feels fitting that her life was celebrated on the day of love.
A little over a week after her passing, it was confirmed that Catherine O’Hara died from a pulmonary embolism, per USA Today. According to her death certificate, she had also been living with rectal cancer for months, which could have contributed to her death.
Her passing certainly came as a shock to me, especially since her last project, The Studio (which you can stream with an Apple TV subscription), was released just last year. Along with that, in 2024 and 2025 alone, she worked on the movies Argylle, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and The Wild Robot alongside the aforementioned Emmy-winning comedy and Season 2 of The Last of Us.
Overall, Catherine O’Hara and her outstanding and hilarious body of work will live on forever, and I’m so happy her family and friends got together to celebrate her life. I think it's special that they did it on Valentine’s Day too, considering how much light, love and laughter the actress brought to her work.
