LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The death of reality star Anna Shay has left her fans devastated. She was 62 when she breathed her last on June 5. The reason behind her death is reportedly a stroke. A statement from her family read, “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.”
“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,” her family added. Anna starred in ‘Bling Empire’ in 2021 and since then went on to become a popular figure.
Did Anna Shay leave a will behind?
The half-Japanese and half-Russian woman was the second most rich person in Season 1 of the Netflix series. Reports said that her net worth was approximately $600 million, the most part of which she did not make herself. She was actually born super-rich.
In 2021, Anna quoting her mother told Oprah Daily, “You were born in a crystal ball with a silver spoon.” In the same interview, she also revealed that she’s not watched ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ and said, “I didn't watch it. I was going to say, ‘I live it,’ but I thought that would be too snobbish. Because how would I know, if I didn't see the movie? In the world I was raised in, ‘crazy’ is not a good word to put next to the lifestyle I was born into.”
She went on to share at the time, “I didn't do anything except be born. It's my parents. My dad is from the South Side of Chicago. My mother is from the aristocracy. Those two are amazing. They're not here, but they're here.” Though it’s confirmed yet if Anna left any will before her death, it has been speculated that her only son, Kenny Kemp, will get her money.
Anna had also spoken of her money coming from Netflix as she added, “It was so confusing when I got the checks. I didn't know what to do with them. I didn't cash them, then I got in trouble for not cashing them. I have them in a savings account. I'd like to have a party sometime. I don't think the money belongs to me. I think it belongs to the crew that had to put up with me.”
Who was Anna Shay's father?
Anna was the daughter of Edward Shay, who in 1955 founded Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE) — a defense and government services contractor. As per The Sun, the company was responsible for building “44 ‘interrogation facilities’ across South Vietnam for the CIA's Phoenix Program in 1964”. Also, its current clients are NASA and the UN.
Edward was reportedly married to Ai-Shan Izumi, a Japanese-Russian woman. Izumi also came from an affluent family who did business in pearls and silk. Together, they reportedly had two children — Anna and a son named Allen. While Edward left the world in 1995, his wife died in 2015 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
According to Town & Country magazine, there was a time when Anna wanted to become part of her father’s business. However, she was married off while her brother became the family business successor.
