Tim Burton remembered “special” Catherine O’Hara with a touching tribute following her shocking death.
“Catherine, I love you,” Burton, 67, wrote via Instagram on Friday. “This picture shows how much light you gave to all of us.”
“You were a special part of my life and after life,” the filmmaker concluded.
In the post, he shared a behind-the-scenes photo from his “Beetlejuice” sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which showed him posing with O’Hara, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega.
In addition to starring in Burton’s original 1988 cult classic and its 2024 sequel, O’Hara also lent her voice to the director’s animated films, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Frankenweenie.”
The director joins the list of stars, including Macaulay Culkin, Michael Keaton, and her “Schitt’s Creek” co-stars Eugene and Dan Levy, in mourning the Emmy winner’s passing.
O’Hara died on Jan. 30 following a short battle with an undisclosed illness, according to a statement shared with Page Six from the Creative Artists Agency. She was 71.
“Prolific multi-award-winning actress, writer and comedian Catherine O’Hara died today at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness,” the agency said.
O’Hara struggled with situs inversus, a rare condition in which the arrangement of the internal organs is a mirror image of normal anatomy, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In the hours before her death, the actress was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital in “serious condition.”
As Page Six previously reported, paramedics responded to a call for medical aid at the “Home Alone” star’s Brentwood home at 4:48 a.m.
According to 911 dispatch audio obtained by Page Six, O’Hara experienced “breathing difficulty” in her final hours.
Her official cause of death remains unclear at this time.
On Saturday, the star’s family revealed their plans to hold a “private celebration of life” for her. O’Hara is survived by her husband of 33 years, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke.
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