Catherine O’Hara (March 4, 1954 – January 30, 2026) is one of those faces that many of us grew up seeing on the TV screen, either as Kevin’s mother from the Home Alone movies, Sally and Shock from The Nightmare Before Christmas, or Lydia’s stepmother from Beetlejuice. This year, on January 30, O’Hara unfortunately passed away at 71.
According to Fox News, O’Hara revealed that she had dextrocardia situs inversus, a rare genetic condition that causes the heart to be on the right side instead of the left, during a Virtual Happy Hour in 2020. For the most part, this is asymptomatic and people with this condition can live normal lives, but there are some instances where it affects other organs such as the lungs.
Asche Orr ’28 says, “I was heartbroken when I found out. I personally believe that she was taken way too soon.” She then adds, “I’m a big fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas. She was a really good voice actor for Sally, so it’s sad that we lost that sort of talent.”
Alyna Rivera ’27 says, “I was at the very end of Colorado History, and when I opened my phone, it was one of the first news articles to come up. I was pretty sad about it, especially since I’m watching Schitt’s Creek right now. She’s one of the main characters in it, so it hurts more than it would have in any other case because I’m actively seeing her in the media.”
Currently, it is unknown whether O’Hara’s condition was relevant to her passing. All that was revealed to the public was that it was a “brief illness.” However, regardless of cause, it is quite heartbreaking to lose an actress featured in most people’s childhood.