Co-star Seth Rogen called O'Hara both kind and a genius in his speech while accepting the award on her behalf
Catherine O'Hara won best female actor in a comedy series at Sunday night's Actor Awards in Los Angeles, just a month after her death.
The legendary Canadian comedic actress died on Jan. 30 at the age of 71 due to a blood clot in her lung, though O'Hara was also living with rectal cancer — a diagnosis she hadn't made public.
O'Hara took the trophy for her role as Patty Leigh, a seasoned former studio exec in the Apple TV comedy series The Studio which satirically mocks the film and TV industry.
A host of "iconic" actors, as presenter Lisa Kudrow put it, were nominated alongside O'Hara for the award; Jenna Ortega for Wednesday, Jean Smart for Hacks, Kristen Wiig for Palm Royale and Kathryn Hahn for her own role in The Studio.
There is shock and sorrow across Canada and in Hollywood with news that Canadian comedy legend Catherine O’Hara died suddenly at 71. No cause of death has yet been released.
The audience at the Shine Auditorium cheered and got to their feet for a standing ovation when O'Hara was announced as the winner, as co-creator of The Studio, Seth Rogen, took the stage to accept the honour on her behalf.
"Something that I've just been marvelling at over the last few weeks was really her ability to be generous and kind and gracious while never, ever minimizing her own talents, and her own ability to contribute to the work that we were doing," Rogen said.
Rogen shared an anecdote about working with O'Hara, saying O'Hara would email him and co-creator Evan Goldberg the night before shooting, asking them to kindly "consider the following" — which would be a "completely rewritten version of the scene she was in."
"Literally 100 per cent of the time it made not just her character better but it made the scene better and the entire show better as a whole," Rogen said.
"She really showed that you can be a genius and be kind and one of those things does not have to come at the expense of the other in any way, shape or form."
The crowd panned to a number of stars in the audience, some of whom appeared to tear up during parts of Rogen's speech.
Outside of O'Hara's win, the show also swept the comedy categories at the award show formerly known as the SAG Awards, taking home wins for best comedy series and best actor for Rogen's performance.
O'Hara had a historic career, taking on comedic roles from skits on SCTV, classic films like Home Alone and Beetlejuice, and stealing the show in Schitt's Creek as the dramatic, wig-loving Moira Rose.
Before her death, O'Hara won two Actor Awards for her work in Schitt's Creek, for best actress in a comedy series and best ensemble in a comedy series alongside the rest of the cast.
