R.I.P. Anna Shay, Bling Empire star

Anna Shay, the nonchalant matriarch of Netflix’s reality series Bling Empire, has died. As confirmed by Variety, Shay died from a stroke. She was 62.

“It saddens our hearts to announce that Anna Shay, a loving mother, grandmother, charismatic star, and our brightest ray of sunshine, has passed away at the early age of 62 from a stroke,” the family wrote in a statement. “Anna taught us many life lessons on how not to take life too seriously and to enjoy the finer things. Her impact on our lives will be forever missed but never forgotten.”

Born in Japan to American engineer Edward Shay and half-Japanese, half-Russian entrepreneur Ai Oizumi Shay, Anna Shay was an heiress to a vast fortune that paved the way for her reality television persona. Her father founded Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE), a defense contractor, and her mother exported silks and pearls and had a patent on plastic scissors for children. In 1968, the family moved from Tokyo to Los Angeles, which became their primary home.

On the show, the source of Shay’s wealth was kept ambiguous, with Shay disagreeing with the assertion that her money came from “weapons.” In 2006, she and her brother sold PAE to Lockheed Martin for $1.2 billion. “My parents were so private because of what my father’s company did, right?” Shay told The Tatler last year. “So we grew up with security guards—the men in black—and yeah, I would just make fun of them and see if I could run away from them. I still do it now!’”

Known for her blunt, disaffected, and cutting temperament on Bling Empire, Anna Shay quickly became a fan favorite. Inspired by the film Crazy Rich Asians, Bling Empire, which aired its last season in October 2022, allowed Shay to slot into the Michelle Yeoh role and become the unbothered bedrock of the show.

“I wasn’t even expecting to be in front of the camera,” she told People. “I’m very shy, and I went along with whatever situation was happening. I was just being me.”

Shay is survived by her son Kenny Kemp, her brother Allen Shay, and her grandchildren.