As Moira Rose, Catherine O'Hara taught me to roll with life's plot twists

Writer Andrea Javor published a poignant tribute to Catherine O’Hara on February 5, 2026, following the actress's recent death, detailng how O'Hara’s portrayal of Moira Rose on 'Schitt’s Creek' helped her navigate a lifetime of displacement and personal loss. Writing from her perspective as a marketing executive and author, Javor reflects on how the fictional character’s theatrical resilience provided a blueprint for surviving 29 different moves and multiple life crises. The essay serves as both an appreciation of O'Hara's comedic genius and a personal memoir of using pop culture as a survival mechanism during periods of financial and emotional ruin. Javor’s connection to the show began in 2018, a pivotal year marked by her second divorce and a leave of absence from her high-profile career. Drawing parallels between the Rose family’s fall from affluence to a small-town motel and her own transition from a suburban dream home to a series of rentals, Javor explains how Moira Rose’s eccentric dignity offered a way out of shame. Rather than viewing her lack of housing stability as a character flaw, the author learned to reframe her frequent relocations as whimsical plot twists, adopting Moira’s "main character energy" to maintain her poise in corporate and social settings. The narrative follows Javor through the various stages of her life, from a childhood defined by upwardly mobile relocations to an adulthood marred by layoffs and rent hikes. In each instance, O’Hara’s performance provided a sense of permission to be "lovably eccentric" rather than broken. Even when faced with a stagnant 2024 housing market and exorbitant rent increases, the author found strength in Moira’s refusal to compromise her identity, eventually finding a permanent home in a townhouse. By channeling the character's defiance, Javor transformed her history of 29 moves from a record of failure into a story of endurance.