New Delhi, May 31 -- Actor Loretta Swit, best known for playing Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the hit TV show MASH, died at the age of 87, reported The Hollywood Reporter citing her publicist.

Her death, at her home in Manhattan, was announced by her publicist, who said she was believed to have died of natural causes.

Loretta Swit's publicist, Harlan Boll, said the actress passed away just after midnight on Friday at her home in New York City. The cause is believed to be natural, according to a police report.

Born Loretta Jane Szwed on November 4, 1937, in Passaic, New Jersey, she studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She moved to Los Angeles in 1970, where she began landing television roles.

In her lat...