Loretta Swit (born Loretta Szwed, November 4, 1937) is an American stage and television actress who has a net worth of $4 million. From stage to TV shows and movies, Loretta Swit has a long list of acting roles through which she accumulated her $4 million net worth.
The American actress gained mainstream recognition for her role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the war comedy-drama television series, M*A*S*H. Her career took off in 1967 and the octogenarian remains active in the industry albeit not as she used to be. As much as her exploits in Hollywood have been financially rewarding, it has also been decorated with some of the most coveted awards in the business.
Apart from M*A*S*H, Swit is also admired for the characters she played in projects like The Love Boat (1977), Supertrain (1979), The Love Tapes (1980), and The Kid from Nowhere (1982), and many others. The versatile actress is also a committed animal rights advocate and author. Born on the 4th of November 1937 in Passaic, New Jersey, to Lester and Nellie Swit, Loretta began her career when she was 30 years old and it was on stage that she began acting.
Acting on Stage Laid The Foundation For The American Actress To Accumulate Her $4 Million Net Worth
Since Loretta began her career as an adult at the age of 30, it is remarkable that she has been able to accomplish several enviable feats in the industry. The Actress of Polish descent had her high school education at Pope Pius XII High School in Passaic and would later move on to Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, also in New Jersey. It was after she graduated from Katharine Gibbs in 1957 that she decided to vie for a career in the entertainment industry as an actress. Before this, she reportedly worked as a stenographer in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
Loretta Swit began her journey as an actress with Gene Frankel who she still regards as her acting coach. This is so because she first studied acting at his studio in Manhattan, New York City. She also trained with the American Academy of Dramatic Arts at some point. As you would easily find, she had her first acting role on stage with the Any Wednesday Company, which was in 1967. After this, she was involved in the performance of The Odd Couple all over Los Angeles. It was only a matter of time before she makes her Broadway debut.
In 1975, Loretta Swit got to perform in the Broadway play, Same Time, Next Year. Another Broadway performance of hers was in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She was also part of Mame (Las Vegas version) which starred Susan Hayword in which she played Agnes Gooch. She also starred in the October 2003 production of Mame by the North Carolina Theatre, appearing as the title character. That’s not all, as she has toured with The Vagina Monologues. More so, Loretta Swit went on to register appearances in other works including Amorous Crossings, a Mark Miller play in 2010, and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks in 2017 at Buffalo, New York.
What she made from each of these theater roles has never been disclosed to the public but we can tell that the amount was worth her time and paved the way for the actress to become a mainstream actress. Above all, the earnings served as the foundation upon which the New Jersey-born actress built her $4 million net worth.
Loretta Swit’s Net Worth Was Buoyed Up With Paychecks From Roles In Multiple Feature Films
While some actors are known to thrive in projects meant for the big screen, others are known for their television roles and Swit belongs to the latter group. Over the more than five decades she has been an actress, she has played at least 57 onscreen characters.
Out of that number, only eleven are feature films. To the best of our knowledge, she made her big-screen debut in 1972 when she appeared in Deadhead Miles and Stand Up and Be Counted. The former is a road comedy film directed by Vernon Zimmerman while the latter which starred Jacqueline Bisset and Stella Stevens was directed by Jackie Cooper.
What she was paid for these roles was never disclosed but given that she played the characters in the early stage of her career, her earnings thereof must have been pretty insignificant compared to what she earned as her career progressed.
Her next movie role was as a Police Clerk in the 1974 exploitation film, Policewomen, written and directed by Lee Frost. This was an uncredited role, so, likely, Loretta didn’t make any meaningful amount for being a part of the production. That same year, she played a major role in Freebie and the Bean, a black comedy action film that grossed $30 million at the Box Office.
Presumably, this was the first movie role that earned Loretta Swit a significant amount. More than that, it gained the actress the exposure that saw her feature as the main character in subsequent movies.
She played Alice in the 1975 action horror film, Race with the Devil, alongside Lara Parker, Warren Oates, and Peter Fonda. After that, the actress was not seen in any big-screen production until 1981 when she played Polly Reed in a black comedy film written and directed by Blake Edwards titled S.O.B.
The movie grossed $14.8 million at the Box Office. Swit again stayed away from big-screen projects for a few years but was seen as B.D. Tucker in 1985’s Beer, a comedy film about the TV commercial industry. This was followed by her role as President Barbara Adams in 1986’s Whoops Apocalypse alongside Peter Cook and Herbert Lom.
Her most recent notable film role was Shirley in Forest Warrior, a 1996 adventure film that starred Chuck Norris. Loretta Swit would later play Mrs. Jones in 1998’s Beach Movie and Mrs. Kincaid in 2019’s Play the Flute.
Her Television Roles Contributed Most To Her Net Worth
The highly talented actress started appearing on television series in 1969 following her move to Hollywood. She played guest roles in several TV series including Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, Mannix, and Mission: Impossible. In 1971, the famous actress was seen in an episode each of Cade’s County and The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, respectively as Ginny Lomax and Rosalyn.
Like the other TV roles she had had before this, Loretta didn’t make much from the roles as they were only guest appearances, except for Hawaii Five-O wherein she was seen in a total of four episodes.
The following year (1972), the actress played an uncredited role as a nurse in a TV movie titled Fireball Forward. She also portrayed Ellen Sue Greely in an episode of Bonanza and Alice in “The Nature of the Beast” episode of Young Dr. Kildare before she landed the TV role that defined her career.
Loretta Swit’s M*A*S*H Role Is Probably The Highest-Paying Acting Gig of Her Career
One of the main roles that have come to make Loretta Swit a household name is that of Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, a head nurse in M*A*S*H. The TV series was set in a mobile army hospital during the Korean War. The war comedy-drama television series aired on CBS for a total of eleven seasons from 1972 to 1983 and Swit was one of the actors that made the series a fan favorite.
Her performance thereof earned her two Emmy Awards among other prestigious gongs. More than that, it seems to be the role that earned the actress the most money from her acting career. Even though what she and other cast members were paid for the respective roles they played in the series remains unknown, the number of seasons and episodes the series spewed are a clear indicator that the show was a cash cow for the actress.
She Remained a Part of The Series Until Its Last Episode Aired In February 1983
Loretta Swit didn’t leave M*A*S*H before it came to an end, she reminded a major cast member of the series developed by Larry Gelbart until the curtain fell on it in 1983. The series adapted from a 1970 feature film of the same title aired a total of 256 episodes across its eleven seasons.
Loretta Swit featured in all of the seasons and was seen in almost all of the episodes. Records have it that she appeared in a total of 251 episodes. The last episode titled “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” aired on the 28th of February 1983, and the actress was a part of it.
The Actress Derived More Financial Rewards From Other Notable TV Roles Aside From M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H is the work that has defined Loretta Swit’s career but she had other significant roles while working on the series. Between 1972 and 1973, she appeared in a TV movie titled Shirts/Skins and played various characters in an episode each of Love, American Style, Ironside, and Match Game. She would later appear in 51 episodes of the latter and, in 90 episodes of Pyramid, a television game show, from 1973 to 1979.
Within the same time frame, she appeared in six episodes of The Mike Douglas Show. Her salaries for these shows were never disclosed but one can tell they contributed to her $4 million net worth in no small manner.
For the rest of the 70s, the actress didn’t hold any major role in a series but she featured in multiple television movies and made guest appearances in several shows. Notable among them include Petrocelli, It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman, The Hostage Heart, The Love Boat, Supertrain, Mirror, Mirror, and more.
This trend continued at the turn of the decade with roles in Cagney & Lacey, First Affair, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Miracle at Moreaux, Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story, 14 Going on 30, Hell Hath No Fury, and much more.
She Continues to Make Money From the Industry and Her Net Worth Reflects Her Longevity as an Actress
It is hard to think of a time Loretta Swit took a break from acting since her career took off in 1967. She remains active in the industry but her last movie role was in 2019’s Play the Flute. Swit has obviously reduced the rate at which she works but is yet to announce her retirement despite being an octogenarian.
In 2019, she made an appearance on Daytime Conversations, a live talk show television series. That was also the year she made her last appearance on Home & Family, a morning talk show television series she had been a part of since 2017. In 2020, Loretta Swit was seen in the TV special documentary, Endangered Rangers and her most recent TV appearance was on the 27th of January 2021 when she was featured in an episode of the talk-show series, The Hollywood Moment at Home Edition 2020-.
The Actress Is Also an Author and Animal Activist
Beyond acting, Loretta Swit has other things going on for her. She has authored two books and spends most of her time campaigning for the rights of animals. Her first book titled A Needlepoint Scrapbook was published in 1986 and has probably contributed a meaningful figure to her $4 million net worth. Decades later (in 2017), the actress published her second boot titled SwitHeart: The Watercolour Artistry & Animal Activism of Loretta Swit. From the name of the book, one can tell it was Swit’s passion for caring for animals that led to it.
The actress is very public-spirited, she founded a non-profit organization known as Switheart Animal Alliance to prevent cruelty and end animal suffering. In addition to that, she volunteers at acting studios from time to time to offer support and encouragement to up-and-coming actors. For her career and humanitarian efforts, the actress has received multiple awards over the years as listed below.
List of Some of The Awards and Recognition Loretta Swit Has Received
- Four Golden Globes Award Nominations in 1974, 1980, 1982, and 1983
- Ten Primetime Emmy Award Nominations out of which she won two in 1980 and 1982
- People’s Choice Award for Favorite Female TV Performer in 1983
- TV Land Impact Award (2009)
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame In 1989
- The Sarah Siddons Awards for work in Chicago theatre ((1991)
- Silver Satellite Award
- Genie Award for American Women in Radio and Television
- The Pioneer Broadcasters Award Woman of the Year Award
- Woman of the Year Award from the Animal Protection Institute
- Woman of the Year Award from the International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW)
- Westminster Animal Welfare & Leadership Award
- Compassion in Action Award
- The Jean Golden Halo Award
- The Advocate for Farm Animals Award (2007)
- Global Wildlife Conservation Champion Award (2016)
- International Red Cross Humanitarian Award (2016)
- The Betty White Award (2016)
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