Emmy Award-winning actress Loretta Swit, best known for her role on the hit comedy TV series M*A*S*H passed away on Friday. Her publicist Harlan Boll broke the news, revealing that she died died at her New York home. According to his statement to multiple US outlets, a coroner’s report has yet to confirm a cause of death, but she is believed to have succumbed to natural causes.
As one of the longest-serving cast members on the CBS show alongside Alan Alda, Loretta snagged two Emmy wins for her role as Major Margaret Houlihan. The TV series airing from 1972 to 1983 was based on Robert Altman’s 1970 film, which, in turn, was based on Korean War doctor Richard Hooker’s (aka H Richard Hornberger) novel. With the title MASH lifting off the page due to the storyline revolving around the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, Swit played the head nurse nicknamed as “Hot Lips.”
Who was Loretta Swit?
Born as Loretta Jane Szwed in Passaic, New Jersey, on November 4, 1937, to Polish immigrant parents, she found her way through the English language due to her young love for movies. According to the Washington post, aspirations of wanting to become an actress took over conviction by the age of 7. She eventually attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Light comic roles became her specialty while working for repertory companies. Ultimately she founder her breakout roll in the 1960s, as she took on the responsibility to portray Agnes Gooch in a national tour of the musical “Mame.”
We are shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden passing of our beloved Loretta Swit. We will have more to say in the coming days, but for now, we offer a heartfelt and reluctant Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen to our favorite Major. pic.twitter.com/Ku74Dt9Uxu
— MASH Matters Podcast 🍸 (@mashmatters) May 30, 2025
Loretta Swit TV career
Soon after that, the theatre actress found her way to the TV industry, landing guest roles in shows like Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke and Hawaii Five-O. Only after that did she crossed paths with an audition opportunity that sealed her M*A*S*H future. Unfortunately, the same role also cost Swit the titular role of Christine Cagney in the CBS series Cagney & Lacey. Despite taking on the police detective role in the 1981 pilot, Loretta had to let go of the post as the network was hard on her about sticking to her MASH contract.
At the time, her recurrent presence in the war comedy series was highlighted as her being a rare woman on the set. Back in 1988, she expressed how alienating the experience could be. In an interview with Micki Moore, she said, “I had to find my voice… and try to express myself in a way that they would allow me to do my character and make my contribution despite the fact that war, and this particular series, was male dominated.”
Loretta Swit breaking free from a one-dimensional woman character portrayal
In addition to securing two Emmy wins for her long-running role, the iconic TV star was nominated eight other times for her performance on the war comedy show. Golden Globes also celebrated her contribution over the years by honouring her with four Golden Globes. Despite her initially stuck-up position in the series as “Hot Lips” due to her affair with Larry Linville’s Maj. Frank Burns, Swit always hoped for her character to become more than that.
I don’t know if there is a more appropriate goodbye to Loretta Swit, than her last scene in MASH in the series finale.
Loretta won two Emmy’s for her role as Major Houlihan. pic.twitter.com/4LXmZZFH5N
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) May 31, 2025
“Around the second or third year I decided to try to play her as a real person, in an intelligent fashion, even if it meant hurting the jokes,” she told Suzy Kalter, the author of “The Complete Book of ‘M.A.S.H.’” as per CBS News. “To oversimplify it, I took each traumatic change that happened in her life and kept it. I didn’t go into the next episode as if it were a different character in a different play. She was a character in constant flux; she never stopped developing.”
As for how Loretta Swit wanted her character’s story to end, she told Yahoo Entertainment in 2003 that her return to the US didn’t sit well with her. “I think her next move was Vietnam. So I didn’t agree with that, but that’s what they wanted her to do,” she said at the time. Additionally, she also opened up about how women around the globe had been personally inspired by her role to pursue a profession as a nurse. Addressing letters her fans had sent her over, thanking her for her portrayal of Houlihan, she said, “To have contributed to someone’s life like that is remarkable.”
Loretta Swit: Activism, theatre career and more
Beyond her character being credited with the golden mark of triggering real-life inspirations, Loretta Swit herself was involved in a national effort to honour military women with a sculpture near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in the 1980s. Her bid was unfortunately ultimately rejected by the federal Commission of Fine Arts.
margaret’s character development is so special to me, seeing her go from someone to make jokes at the expense of, and pretty much an extension of frank to one of the most fleshed out and real characters in the whole show, no one could’ve done it like loretta swit ❤️ pic.twitter.com/1OjJRyEjwO
— lenny (@dr3amoperator) May 30, 2025
The late TV icon even emerged as an animal protection activist, which reflected in her taking on hosting duties for the wildlife series Those Incredible Animals on the Discovery Channel. Beyond these contributions, her TV appearances also included movies like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in 1983 and Hell Hath No Fury in 1991. Meanwhile, her Broadway career flourished due to her involvement in “Same Time, Next Year” and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” Her other stage work was tied to “The Vagina Monologues” and “Shirley Valentine.”
Loretta Swit is not survived by any immediate family members. Although she tied the knot with actor-lawyer Dennis Holahan in 1983, their marriage ended in divorce in 1995. The former couple got hitched after crossing paths in an episode during the MASH final season.