Anne Burrell, the Food Network darling and Worst Cooks in America host, died Tuesday morning in her New York home, her family announced. She was 55.
“Anne was a beloved wife, sister, daughter, stepmother, and friend — her smile lit up every room she entered,” they said in a statement. “Anne’s light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world. Though she is no longer with us, her warmth, spirit, and boundless love remain eternal.”
No cause of death was immediately available.
Born on Sept. 21, 1969, in Cazenovia, New York, Burrell began cooking at an early age, inspired by her love of watching her mom in the kitchen and Julia Child on television.
After graduating with a degree in English and communication from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, she graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1996 and studied at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Asti, Italy.
She continued to work as a chef in Italy before returning to the States to serve as a sous chef at celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich’s Felidia Ristorante in Manhattan.
Burrell made her TV debut in 2005 on The Next Iron Chef. From there, she went on to appear in numerous Food Network programs, including her first hosting gig with 2008’s Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, which ran until 2012.
Worst Cooks in America debuted in 2010, and she hosted alongside Beau MacMillan. Burrell was a part of the series for 27 seasons, becoming a mainstay Food Network personality.
Additional programs she appeared in on the network included Chopped, Celebrity Food Fight, Cutthroat Kitchen, Cooks vs. Cons, Food Network Star, The Kitchen, Beat Bobby Flay, Wildcard Kitchen and House of Knives, on which she competed.
Said a Food Network spokesperson: “Anne was a remarkable person and culinary talent — teaching, competing and always sharing the importance of food in her life and the joy that a delicious meal can bring.”
Burrell was a member of the Garden of Dreams Foundation Advisory Board, a Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation celebrity ambassador — where she focused on juvenile diabetes awareness — and an advocate for City Harvest, for whom she served on its prestigious Food Council.
Survivors include her husband, Stuart Claxton, a Univision ad exec whom she married in October 2021 (Rachael Ray was a bridesmaid); her children, Isabella, Amelia and Nicolas; her stepson, Javier; her mother, Marlene; and her siblings, Jane and Ben.
“I truly in my heart feel that your food knows how you’re feeling when you cook it, and it reacts accordingly,” she said in an interview in April. “I like to put happy and joy into my food, and it’s not so serious.”
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