Loretta Swit, who won two Emmy Awards playing Major Margaret Houlihan, the demanding head nurse of a behind-the-lines surgical unit during the Korean War on the pioneering hit TV series “M.A.S.H.,” has died.

Loretta Swit, who played Maj. Margaret Houlihan on the TV series "M*A*S*H," has died, a representative for her confirmed to CBS News. She was 87. Swit died at her home in New York City, her rep, B. Harlan Boll,

The two-time Emmy winner almost starred on 'Cagney & Lacey' and helped lead the way for women playing strong, professional characters on television.