Catherine O’Hara had a rare life-long health condition

News of Catherine O’Hara’s sad death on Friday, aged 71, shocked fans and colleagues alike. And while her cause of death remains unknown, the actress had spoken in the past about a rare health condition that she found out about in adulthood. The condition, which is called dextrocardia with situs inversus, is genetic, causing the organs in your chest and abdomen to be positioned in a mirror image of normal human anatomy, meaning the heart is located on the right-hand side.

But while the actress admitted that the discovery of her condition in later life was something that came as a huge surprise, there is no indication that this is linked to the as-yet unknown cause of death. 

Catherine opened up about her diagnosis during a 2020 interview on Kathryn Hall’s Virtual Happy Hour.

“I’m a freak,” she laughed. “I don’t even know the name because I don’t want to know the name.” Revealing what happened when she got the diagnosis alongside her husband Bo Welch, she said: “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.”

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“People are gonna think I’m so ignorant not to know this, but I kind of don’t want to know, because I didn’t know before. Never heard anything about this with anyone else. We’re driving home, and I think, I wonder how my other siblings, if they know where their hearts are.”

What was Catherine’s cause of death?

Catherine’s cause of death is yet to be released, however information around the tragic moments leading up to her death have been. According to 911 dispatch audio obtained by Page Six, Catherine was having “difficulty breathing” before she was transported to a nearby hospital in a “serious condition.”

“At 4:48 am we responded to a request for medical aid to that address and transported an approximately 70-year-old female in serious condition,” the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement. 

Catherine’s grieving on-screen family

As well as her loving husband Bo and two children Matthew and Luke, she will be missed by co-stars and fans. The actress starred in an array of films and shows, most recently as Moira Rose on the sitcom Schitt’s Creek. She appeared alongside co-creators Eugene Levy, who played her husband, Johnny Rose, and Dan Levy, who portrayed her son, David Rose. They have paid tribute to her, following her passing.

On Friday evening, Eugene said in a statement: “Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years. From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on ‘Schitt’s Creek.’

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 “I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship. And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke and the entire O’Hara family.”

Dan took to Instagram to share his thoughts, writing: “What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years. Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family.  

“It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke and every member of her big, beautiful family.”