India, May 31 -- Loretta Swit, the beloved actress and lifelong animal rights advocate, best remembered for her role as Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan, on the iconic CBS series M*A*S*H, has passed away at the age of 87.

Her publicist, Harlan Boll, confirmed the news, sharing that Swit died just after midnight on Friday at her home in New York City. She died from natural causes. per police report.

While Swit was famously private about her personal life, her marriage to actor Dennis Holahan was well-known.

The two first met on the set of M*A*S*H, when Holahan guest-starred as Per Johannsen, a Swedish diplomat who struck up a romance with Swit's character in one of the show's episodes.

The couple tied the knot in 1983. However, their ...