iPhoto

Even the newest version of iPhoto (iPhoto 9.6.1 from 2015) cannot run on Catalina. You should be able to open your iPhoto Libraries in Photos for Mac, however, see: Updating from iPhoto to Photos for macOS – Apple Support

iPhoto was discontinued more than 4 years ago. It is no longer developed or sold. It was replaced by the more powerful (and free) Photos.app that comes with the OS. You can migrate to that app very simply:

Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch Photos. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and point at your iPhoto Library. It will do the rest.

If you prefer not to use Photos there are several 3rd party apps that you can use. Which to choose depends on the kind of photographer you are and your budget.

Is the MacBook running Catalina? Did you just upgrade?