Catherine O'Hara on Moira's Most Over-the-Top 'Schitt's Creek' Fashion (PHOTOS)
Eveningwear in the daytime is a Moira Rose staple, as are dramatic statement necklaces.
“I knew two different women who changed their hair throughout the evening when I went over for dinner,” O'Hara explains. “Neither of these women were confident women. It was just kind of a nervous thing to do. It was like, Oh, I’m not making the right impression, I’ll go change. Oh, you know, this isn’t working either. I thought that was a fun visual way to show a neurosis and lack of confidence.”
Moira sticks mainly to a stark black and white palette, but she'll occasionally deviate with a splash of color.
“She thinks she’s a people person, and she thinks she makes other people feel comfortable," O'Hara says of her character. "And she loves to entertain them. She loves to give them the thrill of being in a room with her.”
Sleep mask? Try sunglasses! Moira even goes to bed in tailored PJs, waistcoat and bejeweled broach.
Like mother, like son: David (Levy) shares his mother's penchant for statement-making ensembles.
A distinctive sense of style runs in the Rose family. From left: O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Annie Murphy, Daniel Levy.
Moira got her Emmy nomination!
On Tuesday, July 16, Pop TV's cult favorite Schitt’s Creek was finally recognized by the television academy with an impressive four 2019 Emmys nominations, including one for Catherine O’Hara as family matriarch Moira Rose.
With the role of Moira, O’Hara has added to the pantheon of larger-than-life female TV characters with over-the-top style that includes Carrie Bradshaw and — probably closer to the mark — Edina Monsoon. As a faded soap opera star who married well and then lost everything, O’Hara wears her character’s deep-seated insecurities on her sleeve — literally.
When developing the character along with series creators Eugene and Daniel Levy — who also play her husband and son, respectively — O’Hara determined that Moira should have an understanding of serious, avant-garde fashion. “I thought, I want this woman to look different. I don’t want to look like your fancy rich lady,” she says.
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She settled on heiress and outré fashion icon Daphne Guinness as a partial inspiration for Moira’s look and decided early on that her character’s eye-catching clothes would represent an externalization of her neuroses and frustrated creative ambitions. “It made sense because Moira had been an actress and had not worked for quite a while. So it was kind of like, I can be so creative,” O’Hara explains with a laugh. “She’s a bit delusional.”
As the series has progressed, Moira's kids seem to be putting down roots and growing as people, but she's still the same delightfully kooky narcissist she's always been. And her clothes are still — to borrow a phrase — simply the best.
So in light of the exciting news for Schitt's Creek and O'Hara, let's celebrate by clicking through the gallery above for Moira's best looks — accompanied by some inside scoop from O'Hara herself!
Schitt's Creek, Seasons 1-4, Streaming Now, Netflix
Schitt's Creek, Season 5, Streaming, Pop Now
