NEWSAnne Burrell's Friends 'Shocked and Confused' Over Star's Tragic and Sudden Death: 'A Force of Nature'
Anne Burrell's friends revealed they were 'shocked and confused' over her sudden death.
Friends and colleagues of Food Network star Anne Burrell are sharing details about her final days just one week after she died at 55 years old.
On the night before she passed away, Burrell was completing her Second City “Improv for Actors” class with a final performance.
“She was having the best night,” Jane Margolis, an actress in Burrell’s improv group, shared with a media outlet. “She’d come up with these one-liners out of the blue that were just hysterical. She really was so into it.”
'That 'It' Factor'
Tyler Florence called Anne Burrell 'a force of nature.'
Another source added, “We’re all shocked and confused.”
Tyler Florence, a fellow chef, said she will always be a “force of nature.”
“That ‘it factor’ people talk about with celebrities?” he added. “She had it in spades. She was so big people would just fall all over her… She always used the word lucky. She had a collage of star tattoos on her left arm. I asked her what her what they meant, and she said she really loved the night sky and how lucky she felt to be a star.”
'I Don't Think We're Doing Enough'
Chef Alex Guarnaschelli said Anne Burrell 'gave constant encouragement to invite other women into the field of cooking.'
On June 19, the Food & Wine Classic began in Aspen, where Burrell’s absence was felt.
"[Anne] was a trailblazer on the Food Network, a brash, bold, loud New Yorker, and a woman who had a tremendous capacity for love,” chef Andrew Zimmern shared from a stage. “I can’t think of another community that has done such an incredible job looking out for each other, but I honestly don’t think we’re doing enough. When we lose someone like Anne, I don’t think we’re doing enough.”
Chef Alex Guarnaschelli reflected on Burrell having a “girl chef’s sensibility,” which she believed made her so unique.
“She gave constant encouragement to invite other women into the field of cooking,” she stated.
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Gabe Bertaccini, Anne Burrell's co-host, called her a 'powerhouse.'
Burrell’s final season of Worst Cooks in America is set to begin airing on July 28, and her co-host, Gabe Bertaccini, shared he was initially anxious to work by her side.
“Anne was a powerhouse and had been on the network for two decades,” he said. “I’m fairly new to the network, so I was equally excited and intimidated by her presence because she’s such an icon.”
Once they got to know each other, he was no longer nervous, as Burrell “was so gracious" with him.
Anne Burrell's Death
Anne Burrell was unable to be revived when paramedics arrived.
As OK! reported, a 911 call was made the morning of her passing, in which she was said to have gone into cardiac arrest. When paramedics arrived, it was too late to revive her, and she was pronounced dead.
Documents from the New York City Police Department revealed she was “discovered in the shower unconscious and unresponsive, surrounded by approximately (100) assorted pills.”
A spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed Burrell’s autopsy has been completed, but the cause of death is still pending.
