Catherine O’Hara’s cause of death has finally been revealed after days of her demise.
For those unaware, the renowned Hollywood actress passed away at the age of 71 on January 30, 2026, in Santa Monica, California, United States.
On the day of her passing, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department revealed that they received a call from O’Hara’s home with a concern that a woman was having shortness of breath.
Upon reaching there, they found out that the Home Alone star was “in a serious condition” so she was transported to Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, but she lost her life the same day.
TMZ has obtained the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office report, which states that O’Hara succumbed to pulmonary embolism, a blood clot, in her lungs.
The underlying cause of her death was rectal cancer that could not be diagnosed when she was alive.
Notably, a blood clot, which originates from a deep vein in the pelvis or leg, travels through the bloodstream and gets stuck in the smaller veins in the lungs after passing through the heart.
These blood vessels filter the blood but a clot obstructs blood flow, which ultimately results in death, according to Mayo Clinic.