Loretta Swit

About Loretta Swit

From Wikipedia:

Loretta Swit is an American actress of screen and television. She is best known for her portrayal of Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the long running TV show M*A*S*H.

Loretta Jane Szwed was born on November 4, 1937,[2] in Passaic, New Jersey, to Nellie (née Kassack) and Lester Szwed, both of Polish descent. Her father was a salesman and upholsterer. Swit's brother, Robert, was six years and one day her senior.[3] As a child, Swit was a member of a Girl Scout troop sponsored by the Holy Rosary R.C. Church of Passaic.[4]

She graduated from Pope Pius XII High School in Passaic in 1955, where she had been a cheerleader, had taken part in theatrical productions, and was co-captain of the girls' basketball team.[5][6][7] She graduated from Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, New Jersey, in June 1957, then was employed at a variety of clerical jobs, including as a stenographer in Bloomfield, New Jersey; personal secretary to Elsa Maxwell; secretary to the ambassador from Ghana to the United Nations; and at the American Rocket Society in New York City while being trained to dance by a classmate, Elizabeth Parent-Barber, a Rockette and student at the New York School of Ballet. During this time, she began developing her acting career.[8]

She studied drama with Gene Frankel in Manhattan and considered him her acting coach. She regularly returned to his studio to speak with aspiring actors throughout her career. Swit was also a singer, having trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[9]
Swit was once linked with musician Bill Hudson.[22] She married actor Dennis Holahan in 1983 and divorced him in 1995.[23] Holahan played Per Johannsen, a Swedish diplomat who became briefly involved with Swit's character in an episode of M*A*S*H.[citation needed][24]

Swit was an animal rights activist.[25][26] She was a vegetarian for many years before becoming a vegan in 1981.[27]

Swit wrote a book on needlepoint, titled A Needlepoint Scrapbook.[28]

Swit died at her home in New York City, on May 30, 2025, at the age of 87.[29]