Macaulay Culkin got emotional as he paid homage to his late on-screen “mom” Catherine O’Hara at the 2026 Emmy Awards.
The late Beetlejuice star, who passed away earlier this year due to cancer, received an emotional In Memoriam at the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
As Culkin shared the big screen with O’Hara in the Home Alone films, he took the honor to pay tribute to the late star along with O’Hara’s other on-screen kids, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy
Culkin began, “Catherine O’Hara. We remember her as a forgetful mother, right? But we will never forget about her.
“There are all kinds of words I could use to describe Catherine. She was encouraging. She was warm. She was funny. But the word that I think of is ‘Mama.'”
The Home Alone star was visibly fighting back his tears while expressing his love for O’Hara.
He continued, “You know, [O’Hara] wasn’t just a wife and mother to [her husband Bo Welch and their sons] Matthew and Luke. She was my mom. She was our mama. And by extension, she’s all of our mama.”
Culkin then told the audience to call their mom tonight and asked them to give a round of applause to all the “moms” across the world.
Culkin then shared how O’Hara “always showed up” whenever he called her.
“Because that was Catherine. That’s what she did. She showed up,” he noted.
Concluding his tribute to O’Hara, he shared, “And this is the best that we can do for her tonight. We’re showing up for her.
“So, she may have forgotten me twice, but we will always remember her. Thank you.”
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