Loretta Swit
American actress (1937–2025)
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Interest in “Loretta Swit” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-19.
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Key Takeaways
- Loretta Swit (born Loretta Jane Szwed ; November 4, 1937 – May 30, 2025) was an American stage and television actress.
- Early life Loretta Jane Szwed was born on November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey, to Nellie ( née Kassack ) and Lester Szwed, both of Polish descent.
- Swit's brother, Robert, was six years and one day her senior.
- Church of Passaic.
- During this time, she began developing her acting career.
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Source summary
WikipediaLoretta Swit (born Loretta Jane Szwed; November 4, 1937 – May 30, 2025) was an American stage and television actress. She was widely known for her character roles, especially her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H, for which she was nominated for Emmy Awards in each season of the long-running show, and won two, in 1980 and 1982.
Loretta Jane Szwed was born on November 4, 1937, 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. As a child, Swit was a member of a Girl Scout troop sponsored by the Holy Rosary R.C. Church of Passaic.
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. 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.
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