Catherine O’Hara’s family life at 71: meet her Oscar-nominated husband and ultra-private sons with Hollywood careers

The Second City star isn’t the only famous one in her family. Since 1992, Catherine has been married to Robert W. “Bo” Welch III. 

The pair met on the set of the original Beetlejuice in 1988 and began dating soon after, eventually tying the knot a few years later and welcoming two sons.

Bo is also a Hollywood man, although most of his work happens behind the scenes. He is an extremely accomplished production designer, art director, as well as a film and TV director.

He has made a name for himself with the often surrealist blend of horror and camp in his creations, most notably with Tim Burton and Barry Sonnenfeld, including credits like the Men in Black franchise, the 1985 version of The Color Purple, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, The Birdcage and many more.

He has received four Oscar nominations for his production design for The Color Purple, A Little Princess, The Birdcage and Men in Black. He also directed his wife in episodes of the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events and made his feature directorial debut with the 2003 film The Cat in the Hat.

Soon after their marriage, Catherine and Bo welcomed their first son, Matthew, in 1994. Three years later, their second son, Luke, was born.

Their sons are extremely private, and their parents respect it as well. Catherine and Bo rarely ever bring them up during interviews, preferring to focus on their work or a general picture of their family life.

Matthew once was photographed with his parents at the opening of a Tim Burton exhibition in California as an infant in October 1994, and the two made a brief appearance at the premiere of The Cat in the Hat in 2003. Otherwise, they’ve never appeared publicly with their parents, nor do they appear to have public social media accounts, just like Catherine and Bo.

They are, however, just as embedded in the Hollywood machine, working in the behind-the-scenes world like their dad in set design, such as set dressing and construction.

During an interview with Vanity Fair in 2020, Catherine revealed that both of her sons, in their 20s at the time, were employed on Schitt’s Creek alongside their mom, with one working as a set designer and another on set construction.

In 2024 on Watch What Happens Live, the actress addressed speculation she would be on season two of The Last of Us, and mentioned that her son’s “a set dresser on the show” as being one of the reasons for her inclusion, although didn’t specify which one.