Anna Shay

Anna Erika Shay (January 30, 1961 – June 1, 2023) was an American socialite, businesswoman and television personality. She was a cast member on Netflix's reality television series Bling Empire.

Early life Anna Erika Shay was born in Tokyo, Japan, on January 30, 1961, as the elder of two children to Edward Shay, an American businessman, and Ai Oizumi Shay, a Japanese-Russian businesswoman who came from Russian aristocracy. Her younger brother was Allen Shay. Her older half-brother from her mother's first marriage was Jun Oizumi.

Shay and her family moved from Japan to Hancock Park, Los Angeles in 1968. Her mother had bought her a pet pocket monkey of an unknown gender from a Japanese department store while she was growing up. She had taken the primate with her on a Pan Am flight to the United States; worried that authorities might not allow her to take her pet, she dressed it in clothes and claimed it to be her sister. Unbeknownst to Shay, her father had arranged everything in advance so the airline attendants allowed the monkey to stay.

Shay graduated from the Buckley School, a private school in Sherman Oaks. She attended the University of Southern California, a private research university in Los Angeles, amongst other colleges.

Career Shay was expected not to work while her parents were still alive. Shay had worked for the Edward A And Ai O Shay Family Foundation since its formation, a non-profit founded by her mother in 2010; focusing on education, arts, performing arts, and music.

Shay was an heiress to Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE), the leading global defense and government services contractor; which her father founded in September 1955. She, along with her younger brother, Allen - who assumed control of PAE following the death of their father - sold the company to Lockheed Martin on August 16, 2006, in an all-cash $1.2 billion deal.

Shay was a trained licensed contractor. She was often named a breakout star and quickly became a fan-favorite. When Jeff Jenkins, the show's executive producer, approached her with the opportunity to join the cast, Shay thought she was being asked to help in a behind-the-scenes consultant capacity. The second season was released on May 13, 2022. The third season was released on October 5, 2022. The series was cancelled on April 19, 2023. She appeared in 22 episodes.

Charity work Shay had devoted a keen interest in philanthropy.

Personal life Shay was known for keeping her personal life extremely low-profile. Speaking on her privacy, Jeff Jenkins, a friend of hers, once said: "It was held as high value in the family to be private .. She'll tell you the three most important people in her life are her mom and dad and her son. Well, her mom and dad are passed now, so maybe that gives her just a little bit of a feeling of their blessing to share her life." a third generation firefighter with the LAFD, She had raised her son as a single mother after the couple divorced. He made a guest appearance during the fourth episode in the first season of Bling Empire. She had one granddaughter. One of her ex-husbands was from Ireland, with whom she visited Ashford Castle once. A personal assistant had once stolen $3.4 million worth of jewelry, furs, and designer handbags from her home. Her jewelry collection was worth $13.4 million. Her most expensive piece was a platinum lady's 57-carat diamond necklace with an 8.31-carat green emerald - custom made by Vartan's Fine Jewelry in Los Angeles - which estimated to cost $1.4 million. Her collection of 184 designer purses, travel bags, trunks with gold hardware, and wallets were estimated to be worth $1.1 million. She had collected 58 pieces of fine art that estimated to be worth $700k. She had owned a $40k Steinway piano. Her collection of furs were worth an estimated $103k.

Shay purchased a smaller mansion in Beverly Hills, California, for $5.75 million in 2020. Her Sunset Boulevard mansion - which she bought for $9.4 million in 2011 - sold for $13.8 million in 2021. She had also co-owned her childhood home in Tokyo.

Death Shay died from a stroke in Los Angeles, California, on June 1, 2023. Jeff Jenkins, the show's executive producer, led the tributes. Golden, Netflix's official social media channel dedicated to celebrating the pan-Asian diaspora, also paid tribute.

Filmography Source: