Saturday Night Live viewers were left in tears as the NBC show paid an emotional tribute to Catherine O'Hara following her death on Friday.  

The Hollywood star died at the age of 71 at her home in Los Angeles 'following a brief illness,' the Daily Mail has confirmed. Her cause of death has not been revealed.

A day after her death, the late-night NBC program paid tribute to the two-time SNL host and former cast member. 

A picture of Catherine was shown before the end of the January 31 episode, which was hosted by Alexander Skarsgård and featured Cardi B as a musical guest. 

Several fans were quick to share their emotions on the tribute as they took to X after the show to share their thoughts. 

They wrote: 'SNL didn't think we'd cried enough over Catherine O'Hara this weekend; catherine o'hara tribute on snl :(; 

'#SNL honoring the late and great Catherine O'Hara really punched me in the gut oh god; R.I.P. Catherine O'Hara. #SNL;

'Catherine o’hara tribute on snl [broken heart emoji]'. 

Catherine previously spoke out about her time on SNL after being cast in the sixth season of the program in the early 1980s. 

Opening up in 2024, the Home Alone star said she had expected to feel right at home at SNL, having come from another sketch comedy series, the Canadian SCTV.

However, she said she quit after a week without filming a single episode.

After leaving SNL, Catherine returned to what she described as her 'family' at SCTV.

Catherine's departure from SNL doesn't seem to have been bitter, as she was asked to return as a host twice. 

She hosted the show during SNL's Season 16 in April 1991 and again in Season 18 in October 1992.

Catherine famously played Macaulay Culkin's mother in the first two Home Alone films, and was well known for playing Moira Rose Schitt's Creek, where she won an Emmy for her role at the 2020 awards ceremony.

She was also known for her roles in films including Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. 

More recently, O'Hara starred as Patty Leigh in Apple TV+'s The Studio.

The legendary actress starred alongside countless Hollywood's A-listers, many of whom took to social media to pay tribute to the star in the wake of her death.

'Mama. I thought we had time,' Culkin wrote, alongside two pictures - one of the pair in Home Alone and another more recent image after the duo reunited on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

'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,' he concluded the post. 'I'll see you later.'