Catherine O'Hara discovered rare medical condition during routine doctor visit with husband over 20 years ago

Entertainment

Catherine O'Hara discovered rare medical condition during routine doctor visit with husband over 20 years ago

Catherine O'Hara, who died on Jan. 30, had dextrocardia situs inversus, where the heart is positioned on the right side of the chest instead of the left

Christina Dugan Ramirez Fox News

Published

February 1, 2026 3:43pm EST

Video

Catherine O'Hara dead at 71

Hollywood legend known was perhaps best known for her roles in 'Schitt’s Creek,' 'Home Alone' and being the voice of Sally in 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.'

NEW

You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Catherine O'Hara was diagnosed with a rare medical condition before her death.

During a Virtual Happy Hour with Kathryn Hall in 2020, O'Hara — who died on Jan. 30 at age 71 — opened up about her dextrocardia situs inversus diagnosis and explained how she discovered the condition much later in life.

Dextrocardia is a rare congenital (present at birth) heart defect in which the heart is positioned on the right side of the chest instead of its normal position on the left side. Dextrocardia on its own does not usually cause problems, but it tends to occur with other conditions that can have serious effects on the heart, lungs and other vital organs, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The condition can also cause other organs to be on the opposite side of the body.

It is unknown if dextrocardia situs inversus contributed to O'Hara's death.

'HOME ALONE' STAR CATHERINE O'HARA DEAD AT 71

Catherine O'Hara smiling while wearing a black dress.

Catherine O'Hara died on Jan. 30. She was 71. (Unique Nicole/WireImage)

"I'm a freak, yeah!" said O'Hara, who learned about her diagnosis more than 20 years prior while visiting the doctor with her husband Bo Welch.

"I love Western medicine, I just don’t want to be a part of it. But I had to get a TB test when our youngest was in co-op nursery school and I went to my husband’s doctor, and he said let’s do some baseline tests, and one of them was an EKG," she explained.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

"He calls us into his office and says, 'You're the first one I've met!'" O'Hara said of the doctor revealing her diagnosis. "I don't even know the name, because I don't want to know the name. Something cardio-inversus. And then dextrocardia and something-inversus. People are going to think I'm so ignorant not to know this, but I kind of don't want to know. Because I didn't know before that."

O'Hara was diagnosed with dextrocardia situs inversus 20 years prior. (Alamy)

"I'm one of seven kids," O'Hara continued. "My parents were already gone, had left the world by that time. Never heard anything about this with anyone else. We're driving home, and I think, 'I wonder about my other siblings, if they know where their hearts are.'"

"When the doctor told us that my heart was on the right side and my organs were flipped, my husband immediately said, 'No, her head's on backwards,'" she recalled.

Catherine O'Hara at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party in March 2025.

The beloved actress reportedly suffered from a "brief illness" before her death. (Stefanie Keenan/VF25/WireImage for Vanity Fair)

O'Hara died after a "brief illness."

"Prolific multi-award-winning actress, writer, and comedian Catherine O’Hara died today at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness," her reps confirmed to Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The Los Angeles Fire Department also confirmed to Fox News Digital that first responders were dispatched to O'Hara's Brentwood home at approximately 5 a.m. on Friday. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was listed in serious condition. The beloved actress was pronounced dead several hours later.

Fox News Digital's Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this post.

Christina Dugan Ramirez is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.

Catherine O'Hara discovered rare medical condition during routine doctor visit with husband over 20 years ago