Inside Catherine O’Hara’s 33-year marriage to Bo Welch after famous director played matchmaker

For five decades, Catherine O’Hara thrilled audiences on-screen as Macauley Culkin’s mother in Home Alone, an avant-garde artist in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice and of course, the eccentric, wig-obsessed Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek. As Hollywood, and the world, mourns the actress after her passing on 30 January, off-screen, Catherine leaves behind her husband of more than three decades, Bo Welch, and their two sons. 

Catherine was married to Oscar-nominated production designer Bo for nearly 34 years, and made her final public appearance at the 2025 Emmy Awards with him by her side. But before they fell in love, one of the pair’s longtime collaborators played cupid.

Read on for all you need to know about the late star’s heartwarming love story, including the famous individual who helped set them up on a well-known ’80s movie set. 

A famous director set them up 

Catherine was 34 when she starred alongside Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin in Tim Burton’s whacky and fantastical 1988 horror flick, Beetlejuice. By the time the script landed on her desk, Catherine had already made a name for herself in Hollywood in Home Alone and as part of the ’70s comedy ensemble on Second City Television.

It was while playing Winona’s high-strung step-mother Deelia Deetz that Catherine met and struck up a friendship with her future husband, Bo, who was working as the film’s production designer. Bo is known for films such as the 2003 live action The Cat in the Hat, the Men in Black franchise and Edward Scissorhands, and has four Oscar nominations to his name.

“He talked to me all the time,” Catherine told People about their time on the movie. “We’d hang out on the set, and we’d have some laughs. I thought, ‘He’s going to ask me out. And stupid me, I should have asked him out, but I didn’t.”’ 

Catherine ended up speaking to director Tim Burton who told her: “Let me see what I can do.” She then recalled: “Bo came up to me that day and said, ‘Our department’s going to a swap meet. You want to come?’” 

In another interview, Bo confirmed it was Tim who had kicked him into gear and told him he should ask the actress out on a date. “It didn’t even occur to me that I was even supposed to talk to actors,” he told Uproxx. “But since Tim told me to, I did and then we dated and we’re married and here we are today.”

Catherine moved to LA ‘to be with’ Bo

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After Beetlejuice, Catherine and Bo continued their respective journeys in Hollywood. The late actress ended up moving from Canada to California “to be with him”. 

“We went on location at the end of the movie, and we started dating,” she told the New Yorker in 2019, adding she had “moved for love”. 

A special wedding gift

In April 1992, the pair said ‘I do’ five years after meeting on the set of Beetlejuice. They would have celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary in April 2026. 

After the tied the knot, Tim Burton gifted the newlyweds a private tour of the Vatican – talk about a full circle moment. 

© Getty Images

“Somebody had given [Tim] the gift, and he’d been blown away, so he passed it on, which is really wonderful and generous,” Catherine reminisced on Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast Wiser Than Me. “So this lovely priest or cardinal took us all around the Vatican, and he was wild.”

Tim was among the many to pay tribute to the late actress after she passed away on 30 January following a brief illness. “Catherine, I love you . This picture shows how much light you gave to all of us,” he said on Instagram, sharing a photo from the set of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.  “You were a special part of my life and after life.”

Inside their three decades of marriage 

© FilmMagic

Catherine and Bo stayed together up until the actress’s death in January 2026. Catherine spoke candidly about her relationship to People in 2024, telling the outlet: “We’ve been through some dangerous times in our marriage, and thank God we both just really wanted to work on it and stay married.”

She also opened up about the secret to their long-lasting marriage. “People always say communicate, right? Tell them how you’re feeling. We do a lot of it with jokes. We’ll make fun of each other instead of yelling at each other. Sarcasm helps!”

Catherine and Bo welcomed two sons together: Matthew and Luke. The couple’s children, who were born in 1994 and 1997, have stayed pretty much out of the spotlight despite both their parents working in Hollywood for decades.