Early life

O'Hara was born in Toronto, Ontario, into a large family of Irish descent. She was raised Roman Catholic. She is the sixth of seven children. She attended Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute, where she first met Robin Duke, who went on to her own comedy career.

Career

Catherine started her comedy career in 1974 as a cast member of The Second City in her native Toronto. She was an understudy for Gilda Radner until Radner left for Saturday Night Live. Two years later, this theatre troupe created the sketch comedy show SCTV, for which O'Hara became a regular performer. Her memorable characterizations on the show included Las Vegas scorcher Lola Heatherton, buzzer-happy game show contestant Margaret Meehan, raunchy nightclub comedian Dusty Towne, soap opera seductress Sue Ellen, and stage actress Sue Bopper Simpson.

In the late 1970s, O'Hara also provided voice-overs for a number of cartoons, work which would continue throughout her career. During a short time in the early 1980s when SCTV was in between network deals, she was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981. However, she quit the show without ever appearing on air, choosing to go back to SCTV when the show signed on with NBC. Her SNL position was then given to fellow Canadian Robin Duke, who had also replaced O'Hara for a season on SCTV.

O'Hara began her career on television, apart from SCTV, in the mid-1970s. She appeared in the 1976 television film The Rimshots, the children's television series Coming Up Rosie for a year, and television specials, such as Witch's Night Out and Intergalactic Thanksgiving. But it was her performances on SCTV that earned her fame in Canada, which is why she returned to the show, not only as an actress, but as a writer for both SCTV and SCTV Network 90, which earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding writing and two Emmy Award nominations. She also has written for SCTV Channel. O'Hara has appeared in a number of television series and television films, and continues to work in television. During the '90s, she made guest appearances on Tales from the Crypt, Oh Baby, Morton & Hayes and The Larry Sanders Show. She served as actress and director on Dream On and The Outer Limits, the revival of the '60s series of the same name. In the past decade, O'Hara has guest-starred on top-rated television series including Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In May 2008, it was announced that she had signed on to star in the upcoming ABC dramedy Good Behavior. Her role on the 2010 television film Temple Grandin earned her three award nominations: a Primetime Emmy Award, a Satellite Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

O'Hara has also had a successful career in film. She made her feature debut in the 1980 film Double Negative, which also starred her SCTV co-stars John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, O'Hara appeared in many supporting roles, including Martin Scorsese's After Hours and Heartburn, with Meryl Streep. She had more notable roles in Beetlejuice, the blockbuster hit Home Alone and its sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. In the 1986 Prince music video Mountains, O'Hara appeared as Prince's love interest. In 1992, O'Hara worked alongside Jeff Daniels in the comedy There Goes the Neighborhood. O'Hara continued to appear in many films during the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century. She received roles in four of Christopher Guest's mockumentary films, three of which earned her awards and nominations: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. Her role in 1999's The Life Before This won her a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. She also appeared in episodes 6, 10 and 11 on the tenth and final series of the UK Whose Line is it Anyway? In 2006, she starred with Christina Ricci in the fantasy feature Penelope. O'Hara has served as a voice artist in a number of animated movies, including The Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicken Little, Over the Hedge, Monster House, Brother Bear 2 and Frankenweenie.

On June 9, 2007, O'Hara was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. On February 28, 2010, she spoke at the Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. In 2015 Canada Post placed her image on a postage stamp.

Celebrities impersonated on SCTV

Liv Ullmann Katharine Hepburn Joan Crawford Diane Keaton Joey Heatherton Lola Falana Elizabeth Taylor Brooke Shields Morgan Fairchild Barbara Billingsley Maggie Smith

Phyllis George Charlotte Rampling Monica Vitti Jane Pauley Rona Barrett Tammy Faye Bakker Angie Dickinson Dorothy Kilgallen Jessica Savitch Linda Blair

Rusty Warren Gilda Radner Dinah Shore Joan Sutherland Jane Fonda Joan Embery Candice Bergen Meryl Streep Karen Black Lucille Ball Julia Child

Personal life

A naturalized U.S. citizen, O'Hara married production designer Bo Welch in 1992, with whom she has two sons, Matthew (b. 1994) and Luke (b. 1997). She is the sister of critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara, and is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in Christopher Guest's film A Mighty Wind.

Filmography

Film

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Double Negative	1980	Audrey
Nothing Personal		Judith
Rock & Rule	1983	Aunt Edith
After Hours	1985	Gail
Heartburn	1986	Betty
Under the Cherry Moon	uncredited
Beetlejuice	1988	Delia Deetz
Dick Tracy	1990	Texie Garcia
Betsy's Wedding		Gloria Henner
Home Alone		Kate McCallister
Little Vegas		Lexie
There Goes the Neighborhood	1992	Jessica Lodge	Internationally re-titled "Paydirt"
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York		Kate McCallister
The Nightmare Before Christmas	1993	Sally/Shock
The Paper	1994	Susan
Wyatt Earp		Allie Earp
A Simple Twist of Fate		April Simon
Tall Tale	1995	Calamity Jane
Waiting for Guffman	1996	Sheila Albertson
The Last of the High Kings		Cathleen
Pippi Longstocking	1997	Mrs. Prysselius
Home Fries	1998	Beatrice Lever
The Life Before This	1999	Sheena
Bartok the Magnificent		Ludmilla	Direct-to-video
Best in Show	2000	Cookie Fleck
Speaking of Sex	2001	Connie Barker
Orange County	2002	Cindy Beugler
A Mighty Wind	2003	Mickey Crabbe
Surviving Christmas	2004	Christine Valco
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events		Justice Strauss
Game 6	2005	Lillian Rogan
Chicken Little		Tina
Over the Hedge	2006	Penny
Monster House		Mrs. Walters
Brother Bear 2		Kate	Direct-to-video
Penelope		Jessica Wilhern
For Your Consideration		Marilyn Heck
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses		Rowena	Direct-to-video
Away We Go	2009	Gloria Farlander
Where the Wild Things Are		Judith
Killers	2010	Mrs. Kornfeldt
A Monster in Paris	2011	Madame Carlotta	English dub version
Frankenweenie	2012	Susan Frankenstein/Gym Teacher/Weird Girl
A.C.O.D.	2013	Melissa
The Right Kind of Wrong		Tess
When Marnie Was There	2014	Old Woman	From Studio Ghibli; English dub
Rememory	TBA	Carolyn

Television

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Wayne and Shuster	1975	Various	1975 Show #2
Coming Up Rosie	1976-77	Marna Wallbacker
Witch's Night Out	1978	Malicious	CBC/NBC television special
Please Don't Eat The Planet	1979	Ma Spademinder	Television short
Easter Fever	1980	Scarlett O'Hare	CBC television special
From Cleveland		Various	"pilot"; series not picked up Also served as writer
You've Come a Long Way, Katie'			Mini-series
The Steve Allen Comedy Hour	1981	Various	1 episode - 29 May 1981
The New Show	1984	Various	Season 1 - 3 episodes
SCTV	1976-84	Various	Main; Seasons 1 & 2 - 50 episodes Main; Season 4 - 27 episodes Guest; Season 6 - 5 episodes Also served as writer for seasons 1, 2, 4 & 6 Served as writer for The Best of SCTV
George Burns Comedy Week	1985		Episode - "The Dynamite Girl"
Trying Times	1987	Rebecca	Season 1, episode 3 "Get a Job"
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley	1988	Miss Malone	Main role; season 1 - 13 episodes
Saturday Night Live	1988	Cameo as herself	Season 14, episode 2
I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood	1989	Nancy Mae	HBO television special
Andrea Martin... Together Again		Various	Television special Also served as writer for special material
The Dave Thomas Comedy Show	1990		Season 1, episode 5
Dream On		Irma	Season 1, episode 12 "555-HELL" Director for season 2, episode 3 "And Your Little Dog, Too"
Morton & Hayes	1991	Amelia von Astor	Season 1, episode 2 "Daffy Dicks"
Saturday Night Live	1991	Herself	Season 16, episode 17, Host
The Larry Sanders Show	1992	Herself	Season 1, episode 9 "The Talk Show Episode"
Saturday Night Live	1992	Herself	Season 18, episode 5, Host
The Hidden Room	1993	Laurel Brody	Season 2, episode 12 "The First Battle"
Tales from the Crypt	1994	Geraldine Ferrett	Season 6, episode 1 "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime"
The Outer Limits	1997	Becka Paulson	Season 3, episode 15 "The Revelations of Becka Paulson" Served as director for Season 4, Episode 9 "Glyphic"
Oh Baby	1999	Roberta Hunter	Season 1, episode 20 "Discrimination"
MADtv	2000	Woman on Blind Date	Season 5, episode 24
Committed	2001	Liz Larsen	Main role; season 1
Bram & Alice	2002	Ms. O'Connor	Season 1, episode 1 "Pilot"
Odd Job Jack	2003	Claudia Johnson	Season 1, episode 9 "Broke & Broker"
Six Feet Under	2003-05	Carol Ward	Season 3, episode 1 "Perfect Circles" Season 3, episode 2 "You Never Know" Season 3, episode 3 "The Eye Inside" Season 5, episode 1 "A Coat of White Primer"
Curb Your Enthusiasm	2009	Bam Bam	Season 7, episode 1 "Funkhouser's Crazy Sister"
Glenn Martin, DDS	2009-11	Jackie Martin	Main role; 2 seasons
Leslie	2012	Leslie	2 webisodes from the first season of web channel WIGS "New York, 1995" (2 webisodes)
30 Rock		Pearline	Season 7, episode 2 "Governor Dunston"
The Greatest Event in Television History	2013	Muriel Rush	Adult Swim special Episode 3 "Too Close for Comfort"
What Lives Inside	2015	Sarah Delaney	Mini-series; 4 episodes
Schitt's Creek	2015-	Moira Rose	Main role; current role 13 episodes Season 2 coming in 2016
Modern Family	2015	Marriage counselor	Season 7, episode 8 "Clean Out Your Junk Drawer"

Television film

Title	Year	Role	Notes
The Rimshots	1976
The Last Polka	1985	Lemon Twin	HBO television film
Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood	1986	Marie Antoinette
Mountains	Uncredited
Really Weird Tales	1987	Theresa Sharpe	Segment: "I'll Die Loving" Also served as writer
Hope	1997	Muriel Macswain
Late Last Night	1999	Shrink
The Wool Cap	2004	Gloria	TNT television film
Good Behavior	2008	Jackie West	ABC television film
Temple Grandin	2010	Aunt Ann	HBO television film
To My Future Assistant	2013	Magda

Awards and nominations

Wins

• 1982 - Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Show (SCTV Network 90) *(episode: Moral Majority Show)
• 1995 - Gemini Awards: Earle Grey Award
• 2000 - Genie Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (The Life Before This)
• 2001 - American Comedy Awards for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Best in Show)
• 2001 - Canadian Comedy Awards for Pretty Funny Female Performance in Film (Best in Show)
• 2003 - Seattle Film Critics Awards for Best Music (A Mighty Wind)
• 2004 - Florida Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Ensemble Cast (A Mighty Wind)
• 2006 - National Board of Review for Best Supporting Actress (For Your Consideration)
• 2007 - Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Supporting Actress (For Your Consideration)

Nominations

• 1982 - Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program (SCTV Network 90) *(episodes: Cycle Two, Show Two and Christmas Show)
• 1983 - Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program (SCTV Network 90) *(episode: The Christmas Show)
• 1998 - Gemini Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series (The Outer Limits)
• 2001 - Satellite Awards: Golden Satellite for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical (Best in Show)
• 2004 - Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for Best Ensemble Acting (A Mighty Wind)
• 2004 - Satellite Awards: Golden Satellite for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical (A Mighty Wind)
• 2006 - Gotham Awards for Best Ensemble Cast (For Your Consideration)
• 2007 - Independent Spirit Awards for Best Female Lead (For Your Consideration)
• 2007 - Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards: Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress (For Your Consideration)
• 2010 - Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie (Temple Grandin)
• 2010 - Satellite Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Temple Grandin)
• 2011 - Screen Actors Guild Awards: Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries (Temple Grandin)
• 2012 - Annie Awards: Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production for Frankenweenie

[ Source: Wikipedia ]