Los Angeles socialite Anna Shay, heiress and star of the Netflix reality show Bringing Empire, has died. She was 62 years old.
her family confirmed her death Associated Press A statement said the cause was a stroke. It is not immediately clear when and where she died.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our loving mother, grandmother, charismatic star and our brightest sunshine, Anna Shay.” said in a statement provided to the Associated Press. To take life too seriously and enjoy the finer things. Her impact on our lives will be forever missed, but never forgotten. “
With three seasons on Netflix starting in 2021, Bling Empire will feature wealthy Asians and Asian-American fun seekers in Los Angeles and will be promoted as a live-action adaptation of the film Crazy Rich Asians. was done. Shea appeared in 22 episodes, according to the Internet Movie Database.
Jeff Jenkins, who produced reality hits like the show and “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” praised Shay’s performance. 2021 Town & Country interview.
“I think it’s a personal gift that she agreed to participate,” he said. “But it’s also a gift to everyone watching.”
Ms. Shay’s presence on the show was like a beloved, if at times intimidating, patriarch. Another cast member, Gai Tan, said in one episode, “Anna is kind to people, but if she crosses the line, she will cut you off.”
Shay was born in Japan. Ai Oizumi ShayAccording to multiple news reports, her parents moved the family from Tokyo to Los Angeles in 1968.
Her father founded the defense contractor Pacific Architects and Engineers, which she founded with her brother Allen Shay. Sold to Lockheed Martin In 2006, it was sold for an estimated $700 million.
Shea said on the show that she has been married and divorced four times.
“I’m always meeting people, making friends and that’s it,” Shay said, adding that all four spouses have brought adventure into her life. (She said she met one of them when she was learning to fly a helicopter.) Preparing for a blind date on “Bring Empire,” she said her fifth He said he was ready to get married. Shea has never publicly disclosed the identity of her spouse.
She has a son, Kenny Kemp. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.
Following the news of Shay’s death, co-stars and friends expressed their grief and posted tributes on social media.
“We’ve spent most of the pandemic together. Defeating the pandemic at Rodeo Doctor, shopping for groceries, making Japanese plum wine and doing silly things,” he told the camera. Fellow cast member Kane Lim, who formed a friendship with Shay outside of the show, said: wrote on Instagram.
“Your nonchalantness was charming,” he wrote. “I was lucky to meet the real you.”
In ‘Bling Empire,’ she showcases her personal style, love of cooking, and cut the ginger. In her first scene, she is seen hitting a closet wall with a sledgehammer, wearing a red ball gown and a sparkling diamond necklace. When a friend of hers asked her what she was doing, she curtly replied, “I’m fixing the closet.”
Shay said he was always surrounded by security, even on the sprawling property of Beverly Hills, and was familiar from an early age as a member of a wealthy family.
“My father was very protective when I was growing up,” Shay said on the show.
She spent most of her later years in front of the camera and was still shrouded in mystery. “Anna Shay can contact you, but you can’t contact Anna Shay,” said another “Bring Empire” star, Kelly Mee Lee. said on the podcast last year.
“She was special,” wrote Los Angeles-based art photographer Pep Williams on Facebook. “We used to race Ferraris and Lamborghinis from Beverly Hills to Palm Springs. We have a lot of fun just hanging out at home and talking about life, cars and photography.”
this spring, Netflix cancels ‘Bring Empire’ and its spin-off “Bling Empire: New York”.
Shea has largely exuded confidence amidst the gossip and drama that reality TV provokes. “I don’t feel the need to compete,” she said in one episode. “I find it very annoying.”
