Loretta Swit was born on November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey to Polish immigrants. She studied 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 is also a talented singer who trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before entering the theater.
In 1967, Swit toured with the national company of Any Wednesday, starring Gardner McKay. She would continue on as a Pigeon sister opposite Don Rickles and Ernest Borgnine in a Los Angeles run of "The Odd Couple". From there, she played Agnes Gooch in the Las Vegas version of "Mame" starring Susan Hayward and later Celeste Holm. In 1991 she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. Most recently, Swit has toured with the Vagina Monologues.
When she arrived in Hollywood in 1970, she performed in television shows including "Gunsmoke", "Hawaii Five-O" and "Mannix".
Starting in 1972, Swit played the character of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the television series M*A*S*H. She inherited the star-making role from Sally Kellerman, who portrayed the character in the feature film. Swit, Alan Alda, Jamie Farr and William Christopher stayed for all 11 seasons of the show, from 1972 to 1983. She and Alan Alda were the only two actors to have been on the Pilot episode and the finale. She did not appear in 11 out the total of 251 episodes. Swit received two Emmy Awards for her work on M*A*S*H. Later, Swit was also the first M*A*S*H star to visit South Korea when she narrated the documentary Korea, the Forgotten War.
In 1981, Swit played the Cagney role in the movie pilot for the television series Cagney & Lacey, but was precluded by contractual obligations from continuing the role. She also guest starred in shows such as Hawaii Five-O, The Love Boat, Pyramid, and the latest is Hollywood Squares.
She is believed to be the inspiration for Jim Henson's creation of the Muppet character "Miss Piggy".
Swit received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989.
Swit married Dennis Holahan in 1983, but divorced him in 1985. She never remarried or had any children.
Swit is 5'6" (1.68 m) and wears a U.S. size 7 shoe.
Swit has also written a book on needlepoint. She also has her own line of jewelry which is sold at stores across the United States.
Swit is a very strong advocate for animals, donating much of her time to animal related causes. Over the years she has owned horses, dogs and cats. Presently, she owns a cat.
On the 1995 American TV series, Newsradio, station owner and lead character Jimmy James compiled a list of "wife candidates". With a great deal of reluctance he was forced to cross off Loretta Swit as one of his candidates. Her name was mentioned on several episodes in this context.
