Heartbreaking new details about Catherine O'Hara's final days revealed by her brother

Heartbreaking details about Catherine O'Hara's final days have been revealed by a family member. 

Hollywood was in a state of mourning after Catherine died on January 30 at the age of 71 from a pulmonary embolism with rectal cancer being the underlying cause. 

Now her brother, Michael P. O'Hara, has shed new light on how she was faring near the end of her life - along with the moving dream he had about her just before her death. 

On his podcast, Dreams of Our Loved Ones, Michael revealed his sister 'wasn’t talking much in the end.'

'She didn't really want to talk on the phone... And she didn't live close by, she's in Los Angeles,' he added.  

In the days leading up to her death, Michael dreamt he was hugging his sister in a vision he interpreted as a 'sort of goodbye.'

'Recently I had a death in the family. Very unexpected and very, very sad,' he said.  

'I always cherish the times I can meet with a loved one in the dream state. Actually oddly enough I had a dream days, a few days before she died, my sister. And I was hugging her, which was really beautiful. And I guess it was sort of a goodbye.'

After her passing, Michael dreamt his sister was 'very happy' renovating a new house 'in the other world.' 

'Since then, I’ve had a lovely dream where I was visiting her, and she was in a new house and it was being renovated, and she was really busy choosing furniture and couches. 

'And she said, "You can sleep here anytime, Michael. You can come over and stay any time."

'And it reminded me of when... she was in SCTV [Second City Television] and I was apprenticing at the Windsor Arms Hotel,' Michael said. 'I would go over and sleep over at her place some nights because she had an extra bedroom. 

'Yeah, pretty cool. But yeah, it was beautiful. She was just so happy and very busy in the other world that she's now in... it’s beautiful.'

'We all have our own experiences that are related to us and our own deceased loved ones and we're all interconnected and the love, you know, continues no matter what. They’re always with us.'

Back in January it was revealed that Catherine, the beloved actress known for Schitt’s Creek, Home Alone, and Best in Show, had died at the age of 71. 

A statement from CAA, the agency that represented O’Hara, said the actress died Friday 'at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness', though the cause of death has not been released.

A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'At 4:48 am we responded to a request for medical aid to that address and transported an approximately 70-year-old female in serious condition.'

O’Hara delivered her final brilliant performance in The Studio, bringing her signature wit and charm to character Patty Leigh - a role which garnered her a posthumous win for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2026 Actor Awards.

Seth Rogen, her co-star on The Studio, accepted the award on her behalf, calling it a 'very sad honor.'

Rogen delivered a heartfelt tribute to O’Hara, describing her as a performer who commanded respect and admiration from her peers, while the SAG-AFTRA audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation.

'I know she would have been humbled to receive this award from her fellow performers, who she admired so much,' he said, his voice breaking as the camera panned to a tearful Kathryn Hahn.

The emotional moment continued as attendees like Jenna Ortega - who starred alongside O’Hara in Beetlejuice and was nominated in the same category - dabbed at their eyes during the speech.