Catherine O’Hara’s 6 Siblings: All About the Late Actress’ Sisters and Brothers

Catherine O’Hara, who was one of seven siblings, died on Jan. 30. The Emmy-winning actress was 71 years old.

Catherine was born and raised in Toronto and was the second youngest of seven children. Her father worked for Canadian Pacific Railway, while her mom was a real estate agent. Before her death, Catherine frequently spoke about how both of her parents and all her siblings inspired her comedy career.

One of her brothers, Marc, even helped kick start her career when he introduced her to his then-girlfriend Gilda Radner, who was one of the original Saturday Night Live cast members. Radner, in turn, introduced Catherine to the famed improv troupe The Second City, where she met several of her future colleagues and friends — including Eugene Levy.

In addition to Marc, Catherine had five other siblings: Maureen, Patricia, Michael, Tom and Mary Margaret.

Here’s everything to know about the late Catherine O’Hara’s six siblings.

Catherine was one of seven children

Catherine was born in Toronto in March 1954 and was the second youngest of seven children in an Irish Catholic family. While not all of her siblings are in the public eye, Catherine attended events with brothers Marc, Tom and Michael, as well as sisters Maureen, Patricia and Mary Margaret.

The Schitt’s Creek actress — who was a mother to two children — recalled how she originally wanted a bigger family, like the one she was raised in. During an October 2024 appearance on Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast, Wiser Than Me, the host asked Catherine if she ever thought she’d have “lots of kids like your parents.” Catherine replied, “Yes, I did. I really stupidly assumed it.”

After both of her parents died within a year of each other, Catherine explained that she was “grateful” her parents gave her six siblings so they could go through the ordeal together.

“[I was] especially grateful … that they had given us each other because we were all together,” she told Louis-Dreyfus. “They had seven kids … And that they that just seemed like the most beautiful gift that they’d given us each other to be with.”

Marc’s then-girlfriend Gilda Radnor helped launch her career

While Catherine was growing up, her older brother Marc began dating comedian Radner. She left quite the impression on Catherine and later helped launch her comedy and acting career.

“She was like a beautiful rag doll with her long limbs and big, wild hair,” Catherine recalled in a 2024 interview with Elle. “She would come home [with my brother] and improvise with our family, teaching games to my mom and dad. She was so in touch with the child within — more than anyone I’ve ever known — but such a beautiful, sexy woman at the same time.”

Radner introduced her to the improv scene through the Toronto branch of The Second City, and she and sister Mary Margaret started working as waitresses there.

“Living in the suburbs of Toronto, I never saw the possibility of theatre being a career,” she told The Guardian in 2021. “So Gilda really opened my eyes to the possibility of being silly for a career, and how to do it well. I would not have a career without her, God bless her.”

After working as a waitress for awhile, Catherine eventually transitioned to working as a comic in 1974 and met fellow actors and comedians Levy, Martin Short, John Candy and Dan Aykroyd — who was also a close friend of her brother’s. She and her colleagues went on to star in the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television (SCTV), which began airing on NBC in the 1980s.

“I was lucky enough to watch everybody,” she told PEOPLE in 2024 of the time period.

In the early 1980s, she was introduced by Radner to SNL and became her understudy. Although Catherine was asked and accepted a position on the cast in 1981, she had to decline because of the SCTV scheduling.

Her older sister is a singer and songwriter

While Catherine became an actress, her older sister, Mary Margaret, also got involved in the entertainment industry as a singer-songwriter and composer. Mary Margaret studied music at the Ontario College of Art and Design and was signed by Virgin Records where she released her hit 1988 album, Miss America.

Mary Margaret also released a film soundtrack and holiday EP and has collaborated with several other artists. In 2007, she gave a special performance for Catherine when she was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Meanwhile, two of Catherine and Mary Margaret’s brothers, Marc and Michael, also work in entertainment as actors, writers and producers.

Catherine’s siblings inspired her acting on Schitt’s Creek

Prior to her death, Catherine credited her family for inspiring her sense of humor.

“My dad used to do it to make us laugh,” she told The New Yorker in 2019. “He’d walk ahead of us and make us laugh. I have six sisters and brothers — they could all do that walk. I got to use it on film, weasel that I am.”

She continued, “Everybody in my family’s funny. Being funny was highly encouraged in our family, I think. My dad would tell jokes, and my mom would tell stories and imitate everyone within the stories. I think everyone is born with humor, but your life can beat it out of you, sadly, or you can be lucky enough to grow up in it.”

While her dad enjoyed being a jokester, she told Elle that her mother nailed impressions, so she took a little from both of them.

When Catherine starred as beloved matriarch Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek, she famously wore a slew of intricate outfits and colorful wigs — which she named. She revealed in a 2020 interview that one of her favorite wigs was even named after her sister Maureen.