Which actress played Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan in the 1970 film M*A*S*H?

Sally Kellerman played Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the 1970 film M*A*S*H. Directed by Robert Altman, the satirical black comedy adapted Richard Hooker’s 1968 novel about military surgeons working during the Korean War.

Kellerman’s Margaret is the chief nurse of the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. In the film, she is involved with Major Frank Burns, played by Robert Duvall, while clashing with the irreverent surgeons Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John McIntyre, and Duke Forrest.

The role became Kellerman’s breakthrough performance and earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her portrayal helped establish “Hot Lips” as one of the film’s most recognizable characters, even though the nickname and character also appeared in the original novel and later television adaptation.

The most common mix-up is Loretta Swit, who played Houlihan in the long-running television series from 1972 to 1983. Swit was the TV Hot Lips; Kellerman was the actress in the 1970 movie.