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NEED TO KNOW
Decades after they played mother and son in Home Alone, the relationship between Catherine O'Hara and Macaulay Culkin was just as close
The actor said he affectionately calls O'Hara "mom"
The Canadian actress's manager confirmed to PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 30, that the comedy icon died at age 71
While they played a mother and son in 1990'sHome Alone,the real-life relationship betweenCatherine O'HaraandMacaulay Culkinwas just as close.
The Canadian actress's manager confirmed to PEOPLE on Friday, Jan. 30, that the comedy icon, known for roles in films likeBeetlejuice,Home Aloneand Christopher Guest mockumentaries likeBest in Show,died at age 71. No further details were shared.
In a post shared toInstagramshortly after her death was confirmed, Culkin remembered O'Hara, writing, "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." The actor shared a photo of the two fromHome Alone, along with another taken at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2023.
In a 2024 Q&A withThe New York Times,Culkin, 45, revealed that he still called the actress "mom," adding that whenever he sees O'Hara, "she opens up her arms — she goes, 'Son.'"
InHome Alone, Culkin played 8-year-old Kevin McAllister, who is mistakenly left at home while his family goes on vacation to Paris for the holidays. O'Hara starred as his mother Kate McAllister, who embarks on a mission to leave Paris and go back home to Chicago for her son.
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O'Hara was in attendance when Culkin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023, giving aspeechat the ceremony about witnessing the actor evolve in the decades since the two appeared inHome Alone.
"Home Alonewas, is and always will be a beloved global sensation ... the reason families all over the world can't let a year go by without watching and lovingHome Alonetogether is because of Macaulay Culkin," the actress said.
O'Hara, who also made 1992'sHome Alone 2: Lost in New Yorkwith Culkin, said the actor brings his "sweet and twisted, yet totally relatable" sense of humor to every project he does. "It's a sign of intelligence in a child and a key to survival at any age," she said.
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The actress added: "Thank you for including me, your fake mom who left you home alone not once, but twice, to share in this happy occasion. I'm so proud of you."
Speaking to PEOPLE in 1990, when the film first came out, O'Hara described then 9-year-old Culkin as ''a darling little guy who has been acting since he was 4, so he's very professional."
"He comes in knowing all his lines, knowing where to hit his marks — he even knows all the other actors' lines. I expect he should become the head of the studio by the time he is 12," she joked.
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