Her death prompted an immediate wave of tributes from colleagues, friends and former co-stars.
Culkin was among those who publicly mourned her.
On social media, he referred to her as “Mama” and wrote that he wished they had had more time together.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Culkin remembered O’Hara after her death and described their relationship as one that had continued long after they finished making Home Alone.
That earlier farewell made his appearance at the Emmys even more emotional.
Months after publicly mourning her death, he was standing onstage to remember her once again — this time alongside two of her other onscreen children.
Culkin and O’Hara Never Lost Their Connection
One of the most touching aspects of the story is that Culkin and O’Hara's relationship did not simply end when the Home Alone movies were finished.
Their paths crossed again decades later.
In 2023, O’Hara attended Culkin's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony and spoke about the actor she had known since he was a child.
The Los Angeles Times reported that O’Hara praised Culkin's distinctive sense of humor and his ability to endure the extraordinary fame that came with Home Alone.
That reunion was a reminder that the connection between the actors had survived far beyond the films.
By then, Culkin was an adult with a career and family of his own.
But O’Hara could still speak about him as the child actor she had worked with decades earlier.
Their relationship had evolved, but the affection remained.
Annie Murphy Remembered Her Laugh
Annie Murphy also offered an emotional remembrance during the Emmy tribute.
Murphy, who played Alexis Rose on Schitt’s Creek, focused on O’Hara's laugh and the joy she brought to people.
She described the laughter as something that encouraged others to join in.
After O’Hara's death, Murphy said she encountered strangers who were grieving too.
The stories included people recognizing O’Hara's impact and offering Murphy condolences even when they had never met her.
According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times and TVLine, Murphy described receiving messages and experiencing unexpected encounters with people who wanted to share their memories of O’Hara.
Those encounters illustrated something important about celebrity.
An actor can be physically distant from millions of people and still become part of their personal memories.
O’Hara's work had been present in people's homes for decades.
Her characters had made them laugh.
Her films had become holiday traditions.
Her television performances had become family viewing.
When she died, people were not simply mourning a famous actress.
They were mourning someone whose work had become part of their own lives.
Dan Levy Remembered Her Creativity
Dan Levy's relationship with O’Hara was especially significant because the two worked together on Schitt’s Creek for six seasons.
Levy created the series alongside his father, Eugene Levy, and played David Rose, Moira's son.
O’Hara brought an enormous amount of creativity to Moira.
Her character's unusual vocabulary, bizarre fashion choices and dramatic reactions became central to the show's identity.
Levy recalled O’Hara's willingness to experiment and her creative instincts.
He also remembered how generous she was as a performer.
The Washington Post reported that Levy spoke about O’Hara's creativity and generosity during the Emmy tribute.
That generosity was part of why her influence extended beyond the performances viewers saw.
She was not simply delivering someone else's lines.
She helped shape the character.
She brought ideas.
She improvised.
She took risks.
And she trusted the people around her.
Moira Rose Became a Cultural Phenomenon
It is difficult to discuss O’Hara's legacy without discussing Moira Rose.
When Schitt’s Creek premiered, Moira was immediately unusual.
She spoke in an eccentric vocabulary.
She frequently used words and phrases that sounded as though they had been invented specifically for her.
She owned an extraordinary collection of wigs.
She dressed dramatically even when the circumstances did not require it.
And she approached ordinary events with the emotional intensity of a soap opera.
Yet beneath the comedy was an extremely committed performance.
O’Hara played Moira without treating her as merely a joke.
That commitment allowed the character to become surprisingly human.
Moira could be selfish, dramatic and ridiculous, but she could also be loving, vulnerable and fiercely devoted to her family.
That combination helped make the character enduring.
O’Hara's performance earned her two Emmy nominations for the role before she eventually won in 2020.
Her victory was a major recognition of a career that had already stretched across decades.
Her Legacy Goes Beyond Awards
Awards provide one way to measure a career.
O’Hara's Emmy record is impressive: 10 nominations and two wins.
But her cultural legacy cannot be reduced to numbers.
Her work reached audiences through different mediums and different generations.
For one generation, she was an SCTV comedian.
For another, she was the mother from Home Alone.
For another, she was Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice.
For others, she was the voice of Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
And for a new generation, she was Moira Rose.
That range is rare.
Many actors become permanently associated with one defining role.
O’Hara accumulated several.
And each role revealed a different aspect of her ability.
A Mother to Two Different Screen Families
The Emmy tribute was especially fitting because O’Hara had become associated with two fictional families in very different ways.
In Home Alone, she played the mother of Kevin McCallister.
The relationship was built around chaos, Christmas, family and the recurring problem of Kevin being separated from the rest of the McCallisters.
In Schitt’s Creek, she played the mother of David and Alexis Rose.
The relationship was comedic in a completely different way.
The Roses were wealthy, eccentric and initially disconnected from ordinary life.
After losing their fortune, they were forced to rebuild their family relationships in a small town.
Moira's relationship with David and Alexis became an important emotional thread throughout the series.
By bringing Culkin, Murphy and Levy together, the Emmys effectively brought together two generations of O’Hara's onscreen children.
That was not something that could have been planned when the original projects were made.
But in retrospect, it created an unusually fitting tribute.
“She May Have Forgotten Me Twice”
The closing joke may have been the most memorable part of Culkin's appearance.
It was short.
It was familiar.
And it carried decades of history.