Loretta Swit, known for her long-running role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Hoolihan on the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H died today at age 87, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Swit, who was also an outspoken advocate for animals, died just after midnight Friday of “suspected natural causes at her home in New York City,” The Hollywood Reporter said, citing a police report.

She was born Loretta Jane Szwed on Nov. 4, 1937, in Passaic, N.J. She was married to actor Dennis Holahan from 1983 until their divorce in 1995. No funeral information was available but The Hollywood Reporter said donations could be made in her memory to Actors & Others for Animals or the SwitHeart Animal Alliance.

Swit won two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Hoolihan, a nurse at the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean Conflict. Over the course of the show’s 256 episodes and 11 seasons, the character evolved from a tough female major trying to make her way in a man’s Army to a woman of great depth and emotion.

Swit and Alan Alda, who portrayed Hawkeye Pierce, were the only two cast members who stayed with the show from the pilot in 1972 to the finale in 1983. It remains the most-watched TV series finale of all time, according to USA Today, although several Super Bowls have surpassed it.

She also starred in films including 1974’s “Freebie and the Bean,” 1975’s “Race With the Devil,” 1981’s “SOB,” and 1998’s BoardHeads. She starred in numerous TV roles, including starring as Cagney in the pilot for “Cagney & Lacey” but was replaced when the series was picked up to remain on M*A*S*H.

Swit was also a stage actress. She had memorable roles in such plays as “The Odd Couple,” “Same Time, Next Year” and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” among others.