EXCLUSIVE: Catherine O'Hara's Secret Struggle — How Late Comedy Legend Kept Her Tragic Health Woes Close to Home
Catherine O'Hara's secret struggle has revealed tragic health woes she kept private for years.
March 6 2026, Published 6:30 a.m. ET
Late comedy legend Catherine O'Hara quietly struggled with the rare congenital condition dextrocardia with situs inversus before her death on Jan. 30 at age 71, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The beloved Home Alone mom appeared frail and gaunt during her final public appearance at the 2025 Angel Awards at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel in Los Angeles in October, spywitnesses recall.
Rare Birth Defect Revealed
Johns Hopkins Medicine noted dextrocardia with situs inversus, the condition Catherine O'Hara had, can be linked to other heart and lung issues.
Sources said over 20 years ago, the Schitt's Creek star was told about her birth defect, in which the heart was on the right side of the chest and other abdominal organs were positioned in reverse – a mirror image of most people.
It is unknown if that contributed to her death following a brief illness. But according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, which did not treat O'Hara, dextrocardia with situs inversus often occurs with other conditions that can impact the heart, lungs, and other organs.
In 2020, O'Hara mentioned in an interview that she laughed off the routine medical visit that revealed her unusual physiology.
The Beetlejuice actress said she and husband Bo Welch went to a doctor to get tuberculosis tests before one of their two sons started nursery school, and she had an EKG and a chest X-ray.
Actress Shrugs Off Diagnosis
During a 2020 interview, O'Hara recalled a doctor telling her, 'You're the first one I've met,' after discovering her organs were reversed.
She said of the surprised doctor: "He calls us into his office and says, 'You're the first one I've met.' And it's OK, I don't even know the name, 'cause I don't want to know the name. Something cardi-inversa. And then dexter-cardia-and-something-inversa.
"People are going to think I'm so ignorant not to know this, but I kind of don't want to know. 'Cause I didn't know before that."
The Canadian actress also shared that when the physician broke the news that her organs were flipped, Welch joked, "No, her head's on backwards."
Sweet Tributes
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Macaulay Culkin paid tribute to his 'Home Alone' mom, O'Hara, writing: 'Mama. I thought we had time.'
In addition to her spouse, O'Hara leaves behind kids, Matthew, 32, and Luke, 29.
Her Home Alone screen son, Macaulay Culkin, mourned O'Hara on Instagram by posting: "Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I'll see you later."
