In 2020, Catherine O’Hara won the Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress in Comedy Series for ‘Schitt’s Creek’. In the monotonous COVID lockdown, O’Hara was the ultimate source of laughter. It’s safe to say she was born to play Moira Rose. Now, Moira is not your typical rich white woman with Botox. She is the beating heart of the sitcom that won over everyone.
While Moira famously sticks to a black-and-white wardrobe, her over-the-top expressions, wigs, and theatrical flair more than make up for it. But was it just the script, or was O’Hara’s real-life comedic instinct responsible for elevating the character to something unforgettable? We’re here to break down the story behind her quirkiest catchphrase.
How Catherine O’Hara Became Moira Rose For ‘Schitt’s Creek’
Across its 80-episode run, ‘Schitt’s Creek‘ follows a formerly wealthy family forced to relocate to a rundown motel in a small town after their business manager embezzles their fortune.
From the very beginning, Moira Rose stood out as the show’s most larger-than-life presence. She is a character so bizarre she communicates volumes with just a look—or one of her many wigs, which she fondly refers to as her “girls.” Her outfits are equally unforgettable. “It’s bold, and it’s strong, and it’s graphic and cartoony and cool all at the same time,” O’Hara once said of Moira’s signature black-and-white aesthetic.
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From the get-go, the only character who had a larger-than-life presence was Moira Rose. A character so bizarre that she communicates more by just expressions and her “girls,” who are her wigs. Yeah, that’s the genius of her looks, only enhanced by her fabulous outfits. “It’s bold, and it’s strong, and it’s graphic and cartoony and cool all at the same time,” O’Hara once said of Moira’s signature black-and-white aesthetic.
Television has rarely seen a linguistic creation quite like Moira Rose. She tosses around words like “pettifogging” and “pernicious” with the ease of someone who seems to have been educated inside a Shakespearean play. It’s not just the vocabulary; it’s the constantly shifting, impossible-to-place accent that makes every scene memorable.
A Simple Mispronunciation That Made TV History
One of ‘Schitt’s Creek’s most iconic moments came from complete spontaneity. In Season 4, Episode 2, “The Pregnancy Test,” O’Hara was simply fooling around when she mispronounced the word “baby” as “bebe.” Lo and behold, the moment landed perfectly.
In an interview with Vulture, O’Hara explained: “I said ‘bebe’ as a joke or a mistake the first time. Once I hit on ‘bebe’ and got a laugh from the crew, that was it.”
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While Alexis’s “Ew, David” remains a close second, Moira’s dramatic “bebe” became legendary. All of it immortalized through endless memes, GIFs, and fan edits. You know a show has truly made a cultural impact when a single word can define an entire character.
In the end, “bebe” was more than just a mispronunciation. It perfectly captured Moira Rose’s eccentricity, theatricality, and out-of-the-world personality. A simple slip of the tongue became comedy history, and a reminder that characters like Moira Rose come along only once in a generation.
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