by Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI’m an innately nosey and chronically online celebrity and pop culture journalist, with my specialist areas including deep-diving lyrics and calling out Terrible Men™.

Macaulay Culkin was just 9 years old when he landed the lead role of Kevin McCallister in the 1990 movie Home Alone, which follows a young boy who is accidentally abandoned at home by his family over the holidays.

Catherine O’Hara played Kevin’s mom, and both stars reprised their roles for the 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

And while the pair did not work together again in the decades that followed, Macaulay — who has been open about his incredibly difficult childhood — and Catherine always remained close, with Catherine revealing that her former on-screen son never stopped calling her “mom.”

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During a 2015 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, for example, Catherine mentioned that she had recently bumped into a then-mid-30s Macaulay at an art opening. She recalled: “He was coming out and he went: ‘Mommy!’ And I said: ‘Baby!’”

Bravo / Via youtube.com

“He was living in Paris at the time, and he looked lovely, and he was doing really well,” she went on. “I was happy to see him. Love him.”

Bravo / Via youtube.com

And when Macaulay received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in December 2023, he was left visibly emotional when Catherine delivered a speech at the ceremony. Referencing his child stardom, she said, in part, at the time: “Macaulay, a 10-year-old boy this beautiful, dear little 10-year-old boy, was called a ‘superstar,’ a ‘money maker,’ ‘one of the hottest leading young men in Hollywood’ by the world over. How does anyone survive that?”

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“I believe you'd have to possess a certain quality, a gift that dear John Hughes [Home Alone’s writer and producer] obviously recognized in you, Macaulay,” Catherine went on. “Your sense of humor is a sign of intelligence in a child, and a key to surviving life at any age, and you have — from what I see — you have brought that sense of sweet yet twisted yet totally relatable sense of humor to everything that you have chosen to do since Home Alone. Macaulay, congratulations, you so deserve your star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and thank you for including me, your fake mom who left your home alone not once, but twice, to share this happy occasion. I'm so proud of you.”

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“I just care about him. I care for him, I care about him. I’m so happy that he’s doing so well,” Catherine added to Us Weekly in 2024. “He’s still got the same face up close. It’s like: ‘Oh my god, I’m still looking at that little 8-year-old.’ He is funny. Always was. I just love him, I’m just really happy for him.”

Amy Sussman / Getty Images

As for Macaulay, who is largely pretty private, he has affirmed that the feeling is mutual, telling the New York Times in 2024 that he will always call Catherine “mom” every time he sees her.

Amy Sussman / Getty Images

And, needless to say, the now-45-year-old star was left absolutely devastated when Catherine died earlier this year, at age 71. The acting legend’s death following a “brief illness” was announced on Jan. 30, with the cause of death later being ruled a pulmonary embolism.

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Responding to the news of Catherine’s death on the day that it broke, Macaulay shared a screenshot of himself and the star in Home Alone alongside a more recent photo of them posing in a similar way. He added in the post’s caption: “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.”

Instagram @culkamania / Via instagram.com

Now, Macaulay has opened up about his loss some more in an interview with Gentleman’s Journal, where he said: “When Catherine passed away in January, that hit me. That hit me pretty good, ’cause, you know, it was just too soon. And I felt that we had unfinished business.”

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“I definitely feel like I had unfinished business with her, you know?” he repeated. “I feel like I owed her a favor — and I don't like having an outstanding debt.”

20th Century Studios / Via youtube.com

And Macaulay’s words have struck a chord with people online, with one of the most meaningful Reddit comments about these new quotes simply reading: “it’s sad he feels that way, because i bet she didn’t. 💔”

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“I truly believe that the fact he survived, and now has a family of his own whom he loves and adores, is the repayment. When he could have kept walking down a dark road, he chose the light,” somebody else wrote. While one more concluded: “Oh man 😭 obviously i didn't know her personally at all, but I can say without a doubt in my mind that there's no way she felt he owed

Macaulay Culkin On Catherine O&#x27;Hara&#x27;s Death: Reacts

Macaulay Culkin On Catherine O'Hara's Death: Reacts