Catherine O'Hara's Cause of Death Revealed

Catherine O'Hara died from a blood clot in the lungs brought on by cancer, according to Los Angeles County officials. The medical examiner's office on Monday listed the 71-year-old actor's immediate cause of death as pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that blocks the flow of blood to an artery in the lung, with rectal cancer identified as the underlying condition, TMZ reports. The death certificate states O'Hara was cremated and her ashes released to her husband, production designer and director Robert "Bo" Welch.

The Canadian-born star, best known for her roles in Home Alone, Schitt's Creek, and Beetlejuice, died in late January after being rushed to a hospital in serious condition, with emergency dispatchers reporting that she was having difficulty breathing. She had not publicly disclosed any health struggles and it's not clear how long she had been fighting cancer, ABC News reports. The CDC says colorectal cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US. After O'Hara's Jan. 30 death, she was praised as "one of the great movie moms."