Inga Swenson dead at 90: Star of ABC sitcom Benson passes away in LA from natural causes

Actress Inga Swenson has passed away at the age of 90.

The screen star died on Saturday, July 22, 2023 of natural causes, according to TMZ.

Inga’s son Mark announced the news on Friday via the outlet.

Her husband Lowell Harris, whom she married in 1953, was by her side at a ‘board and care facility’ when she died, her son said.

Inga became a household name playing the character Gretchen Kraus on the hit ABC sitcom Benson, which aired from 1979 until 1986.

In character: The screen star died on Saturday, July 22, 2023 of natural causes, according to TMZ; seen on the series Benson

Inga and Lowell married in February 1953 and welcomed two children together, Mark and a second son who has already passed away.

Inga asked to be cremated and have her ashes buried with her deceased son in San Rafael, California. 

Inga was born in Omaha, Nebraska on December 29, 1932. 

She began her acting career in 1949 at age 17 in the play Peg O’My Heart in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. 

Her London stage debut came in 1967 as the character Lizzie Currie in 110 in the Shade at Palace Theatre.

Her Broadway debut came seven years later in New Faces of ’56, where she played a singer.

She starred in a number of Broadway plays in the years that followed, before making her television debut in 1957.

Inga’s first movie role was in 1962 – in the film Advise And Consent. 

Throwback: Her London stage debut came in 1967 as the character Lizzie Currie in 110 in the Shade at Palace Theatre; pictured with Ivor Emmanuel and Stephen Douglass