The comedy world lost a legend when Catherine O’Hara passed away in January at age 71. But her work continues to receive recognition. On Sunday night at the 2026 Actor Awards (the ceremony formally known as the SAG Awards), O’Hara won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role in The Studio .
Her co-star and the show’s creator Seth Rogen took the stage at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles to accept the honor on her behalf . The room gave the late actress a long standing ovation as cameras captured emotional moments from her fellow nominees, including Jenna Ortega and Kathryn Hahn .
A Win for Her Final Role
Catherine O’Hara received the award for playing Patty Leigh, a former studio head who mentors Rogen’s character in the Apple TV+ comedy series The Studio . She was nominated alongside her co-star Kathryn Hahn, as well as Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Jean Smart (Hacks), and Kristen Wiig (Palm Royale) .
This marked O’Hara’s second major posthumous nomination of awards season. She had also been nominated at the Golden Globes in January, though she was unable to attend that ceremony . Her death on January 30 came from a pulmonary embolism, with her death certificate listing rectal cancer as the underlying cause .
The Studio had a huge night overall. The series also won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, and Seth Rogen won for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the show .
Seth Rogen’s Emotional Speech
When Rogen stepped on stage to accept O’Hara’s award, he kept his focus on the woman he called a “genius” .
“I was asked to assume the very sad honor of accepting this award on O’Hara’s behalf,” Rogen began. “I know she would have been honored to receive this award from her fellow performers, who I know she respected so much. She was such big fans of all of yours” .
He then shared personal memories of working with her on The Studio. Rogen revealed that O’Hara would often send him and his creative partner Evan Goldberg detailed emails the night before filming with her own ideas for improving scenes .
“Pretty much every evening before she had a shooting day on our show, she would email me and Evan an email that always was pretty similar. It said, ‘Hello, I hope you’ll consider the following,’ and then there would be a completely rewritten version of the scene she was in,” Rogen recalled. “And literally, 100 percent of the time, it made not just her character better, but it made the scene better and the entire show better as a whole” .
Rogen praised her unique combination of talent and kindness, noting that she never held back her abilities while remaining generous with everyone on set.
“She really showed that you can be a genius and be kind. And one of those things does not have to come at the expense of the other in any way, shape or form” .
He ended his speech by encouraging everyone to share O’Hara’s classic work with new generations. He specifically mentioned her iconic dance to Harry Belafonte in Beetlejuice and her hilarious knee injury scene in Best in Show .
“Tell the people, as they are laughing, that that’s Catherine O’Hara. And we were lucky that we got to live in a world where she so generally shared her talents with us” .
Fellow Actors Show Emotion
The tribute hit hard for those who knew and worked with her. Jenna Ortega, who starred alongside O’Hara in the 2024 film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, was seen wiping tears from her face as Rogen spoke . Kathryn Hahn, O’Hara’s co-star from The Studio, also looked visibly moved during the speech .
A Career That Spanned Five Decades
Catherine O’Hara built a legacy that few in comedy can match. She first gained fame on the Canadian sketch series SCTV in the 1970s and 80s . From there, she became a familiar face in some of the most beloved films of all time.
For millions, she will always be Kate McCallister, the frantic mother in Home Alone who will do anything to get back to her son Kevin . She reunited with Macaulay Culkin for the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Just hours after her passing, Culkin shared his own tribute, remembering her with deep affection .
She also became a key part of Christopher Guest’s mockumentary films, delivering unforgettable performances in Best in Show and A Mighty Wind . Her role as the eccentric Moira Rose on the sitcom Schitt’s Creek introduced her to an entirely new generation of fans and earned her previous Actor Awards wins . More recently, she appeared in the HBO series The Last of Us .
O’Hara leaves behind her husband of over 30 years, production designer Bo Welch, and their two sons, Matthew and Luke .
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About the Actor Awards 2026
This year marked the first ceremony under the new Actor Awards name, rebranded from the Screen Actors Guild Awards to better reflect the statuette called “The Actor” . The show streamed live on Netflix and was hosted by Kristen Bell, who returned for her third time as emcee .
Other major winners of the night included Michael B. Jordan for Best Male Actor in Sinners, Jessie Buckley for Best Female Actor in Hamnet, and Harrison Ford, who received the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award .
For VvipTimes, this moment serves as a powerful reminder of the artists who shape our lives through their work. Catherine O’Hara gave decades of laughter and unforgettable characters, and Sunday night proved her impact will last for years to come.
