Photos Of Catherine O'Hara's Final Red Carpet Appearance Are Even More Devastating Now

Catherine O'Hara died on January 30 at 71 years old. Hours before her death, the "Home Alone" actor was rushed to the hospital and reportedly was in "serious condition," per Page Six. Months earlier, she attended Apple TV+'s Primetime Emmy Party in September, where she was accompanied by her husband, Bo Welch. No one knew at the time that it would be her last red carpet. She wore an elegant black gown with an asymmetrical skirt. The top had a high neckline and three-quarter-length sleeves. It should have fit snugly on her body, but O'Hara had lost considerable weight, which caused the piece to hang loosely off her frame.

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Close-up shots showed that O'Hara's eyes were still a vibrant blue, but besides that, she looked to have aged rapidly as the "Schitt's Creek" star looked well beyond her years. Her hair seemed to have thinned as well, but she still flashed a radiant smile while posing for the cameras.

Following her death, photos of her last red carpet appearance were shared on social media, and fans noticed that O'Hara's health looked to be in steady decline in the snaps. "She looked so frail [sad emoji] did she have cancer?" one X user asked. "It looks like she was battling some illness, just look at the drastic weight loss," another observed. News of her death recontextualized her Emmy party appearance. "I hadn't seen these photos before so I had no idea she was sick and had not prepared for this outcome," a fan tweeted. Looking at older photos only further highlights how much she changed in recent years. 

Catherine O'Hara's remarkable evolution captivated audiences for decades. Five years prior to her last red carpet appearance, Catherine O'Hara looked stunning at the 2020 Emmys. Similar to the 2025 look, the "Beetlejuice" actor wore a black gown with a high neckline that had sequin details along the sleeves. Unlike those upsetting later snaps, O'Hara looked healthy with her cheeks looking full and far from gaunt, still resembling the on-screen force of nature that fans had grown to love.

That night, O'Hara won an Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her work on "Schitt's Creek." During her acceptance speech, O'Hara joked about co-stars and show creators Eugene Levy and Dan Levy (who are father and son in real life as well as on the show), and how the character they created gave her an outlet in the advanced stages of her career. "I will be forever grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for bestowing upon me the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be her ridiculous self," O'Hara told the crowd.

O'Hara still displayed that feistiness at another awards ceremony five years later, but she had already begun to lose considerable weight.

A year before her death, Catherine O'Hara was a presenter at the 2025 Golden Globes. For the occasion, she wore another sleek black gown with a high neckline and sequin detailing. The accomplished TV actor was much thinner than she had looked in 2020, but there was still a healthy glow on her face. O'Hara may have dropped a lot of weight, but she was far from the frail version of herself that she would look like later that year.

While presenting alongside Seth Rogen, O'Hara was spritely and put her comedic timing on display as she and Rogen made jokes about their shared Canadian backgrounds. They exchanged quips about receiving "Golden Antler" awards in the past and praised one another's fictional work. Rogen joked that he admired O'Hara's role where she breastfed an otter. "I think the otter was method. And I lost half a nipple," O'Hara jokingly replied.

Fortunately, fans were able to take in that moment of O'Hara showcasing the comedic precision that made her a star one last time before her health was fully in decline.