Catherine O'Hara was born on March 4th, 1954 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada - the sixth of seven children. She began acting at a young age, playing Mary in a nativity play when she was just 7 years old. She later attended high school at Burnhamthorpe Collegiate. It was here that she met Robin Duke, when they acted together in a school production of "Harvey". In 1973, Catherine took a job as a waitress at the Toronto Second City Theatre Company. When Gilda Radner left the cast in 1974, Catherine took her place as a cast regular. From Second City Theatre she went on to star on the legendary show SCTV. In 1983 she was part of the writing team that won an Emmy for their work on SCTV. After smaller roles in films such as Heartburn and After Hours, Catherine landed a major role playing Delia Deetz in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice. It was on the set of this film in 1988 that she met her future husband, Bo Welch. An Oscar-nominated production designer, Bo Welch and Catherine O'Hara were married in 1992. They have two sons, born in 1994 and 1997. One of her best-known roles came in 1990 when she portrayed the mother who left her son behind in Home Alone, a role she would later reprise in the film's sequel. Director Tim Burton again cast Catherine in one of his films in 1993, this time employing her vocal talents for the role of Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas. 1996 saw Ms. O'Hara's first collaboration with writer-director Christopher Guest. The critically-acclaimed Waiting for Guffman allowed Ms. O'Hara to showcase her dazzling ability to improvise on camera in her role as travel agent Sheila Albertson. In 1998's darkly comic Home Fries she portrayed the manipulative Mrs. Lever opposite co-stars Drew Barrymore and Luke Wilson. Catherine O'Hara won a Genie Award (Canada's equivalent to the Oscars) in 2000 for her layered work in the film The Life Before This. Having been reunited with SCTV alum Eugene Levy for Waiting for Guffman, they would go on to play opposite one another again as Cookie and Gerry Fleck in 2000's Best in Show. She won both an American and a Canadian Comedy Award for her hilarious performance in this role. In 2001, Catherine had a riotous turn in the film Orange County. She has also guest-starred in the hit HBO series Six Feet Under. Her most recent work can be seen in Christopher Guest's masterpiece A Mighty Wind in which she sensitively portrays a former folk star who is reunited with her mentally-unstable partner for one final reunion concert. This role as Mickey Crabbe brought Catherine wide-spread acclaim, including a nomination for Best Supporting Actress from the International Press Organization. She was also nominated for a Golden Satellite Award and lent her vocal and songwriting talents to the Grammy-nominated soundtrack from A Mighty Wind. Catherine will next be seen in December 2004, in the blockbuster film Surviving Christmas.

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