People couldn’t believe how old Catherine O’Hara was as Kevin's mum in Home Alone

Home Alone star Catherine O'Hara has sadly died at the age of 71.

Her manager confirmed to Variety that she had passed away following 'a brief illness', and tributes have started pouring in for a performer who spent decades on the screen.

Many will know her as Kevin's mum from Home Alone, but O'Hara started long before that with Canadian comedy series Second City Television which earned her first Emmy.

Her career would see her earn another Emmy, a Golden Globe and various other awards for her performances, with the likes of Schitt's Creek and her appearances in Christopher Guest's mockumentary films filling out an enviable career.

She had also recently appeared in Apple TV's The Studio and HBO's The Last of Us.

Catherine O'Hara has died at the age of 71, her manager confirmed (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

While some viewers assumed she was older during filming of the iconic Christmas movie, O'Hara was actually 36 years old while shooting her scenes as Kevin's mother.

Various fans of Home Alone had expressed their shock at learning this, particularly as some of them had reached that age and realised how time works.

One person took to X to share their shock: "It blows my mind that Catherine O’Hara was my age when she filmed Home Alone. I think she seems so much older than I feel."

Another wrote: "Watching Home Alone with the kids. Catherine O’Hara is the same age as me but looks more like a grown up than I do. Is this the thing with older films? Like how the parents in Father of the Bride are actually in their 40s."

And a third penned: "My friends and I determined that Catherine O’Hara was my age in Home Alone. I need to lie down."

She played Kevin McCallister's mum Kate in Home Alone (20th Century Fox)

Now, with her passing, people are praising her as a 'titan' and 'one of the funniest Canadians of all time', as plenty praised her talent and expressed their surprise at her death.

Her Home Alone co-star Macaulay Culkin shared an emotional tribute, writing: "Mama. I thought we had time.

"I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say.

"I love you. I’ll see you later."

The pair reunited when he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as O'Hara gave a speech that brought him to tears.

She said: "Home Alone was, is and always will be a beloved global sensation ... the reason families all over the world can't let a year go by without watching and loving Home Alone together is because of Macaulay Culkin.

"I know you worked really hard, I know you did, but you made acting look like the most natural thing in the world to do."

Last year, O'Hara also told LADbible that while working with Seth Rogen on The Studio, she 'would never know it' if he was stoned all day since she thought he was 'more aware of everything going on on the set' than pretty much anyone else she'd ever worked with.