Anna Shay, star of ‘Bling Empire,’ dead at 62

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Anna Shay, star of the Netflix reality series “Bling Empire,” has died after suffering a stroke, her family confirmed in a statement shared with CNN by Netflix on Monday. 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,” the statement read.

“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.”

Shay first appeared on “Bling Empire” in 2021 when the reality show premiered, and appeared throughout the second and third seasons.

“Bling Empire” followed the lives of wealthy Asian and Asian American Los Angeles elites.

Christine Chiu, Kim Lee, Kane Lim, Kevin Kreider and Kelly Mi Li starred alongside Shay in the series.

Kreider paid tribute to Shay on his verified Instagram page on Monday following the news, saying, “You never know when your last goodbye will be. So unexpected and wished when I saw you last for lunch I would have taken a moment to smell the roses and had one last adventure with you.”

“You are truly one of a kind and we will miss you forever,” Mi Li said on her Instagram on Monday.

Shay’s lifestyle and wealth – along with her at-times shy nature – were showcased in the reality series, but she kept a mostly private life before appearing on the show.

In a 2021 interview with Town & Country, Shay said that “whatever it is on the show is how I am,” and that she joined the cast of “Bling Empire” as something to do for herself after spending the previous few years caring for her son, Kenny Kemp.

Shay spent the first eight years of her life in Tokyo with her family before they moved to Los Angeles.

Her father, Edward Shay, was the founder of the global defense contractor company Pacific Architects and Engineers. While her father was American, Shay’s mother, Ai Oizumi Shay, was part-Japanese and part-Russian.

“My parents are my heroes and I think to continue their legacy is to give back,” she told Tatler in February 2022.

According to the outlet, Shay and her brother Allen sold Pacific Architects and Engineers in 2006 for $1.2 billion.

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