Is perhaps best-known to a later generation in the atypical role of
tart-tongued, German-accented executive housekeeper Gretchen Kraus on
the popular 1980s TV series
Benson (1979) (ABC: 1979-1986). The thick accent
required of the character led many fans at the time to mistakenly
believe Swenson was actually German, when in real life she speaks
perfect English.