New Details Inside Anne Burrell’s ‘Bold’ Life and Last Days: Friends Remember the ‘Force of Nature’ (Exclusive)

On June 16, Food Network star Anne Burrell put her comedic chops on display as she closed out her Second City “Improv for Actors” course with a final performance in Brooklyn.

“She was having the best night,” actress Jane Margolis, a member of Burrell’s improv troupe, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story, on newsstands Friday. “She’d come up with these one-liners out of the blue that were just hysterical. She really was so into it.” 

That made it all the more shocking when, just hours later, Burrell’s family announced her death at 55.

“Anne was a beloved wife, sister, daughter, stepmother, and friend — her smile lit up every room she entered,” they said in a statement. “Though she is no longer with us, her warmth, spirit, and boundless love remain eternal.”

The New York Police Department confirmed that officers had found Burrell “unconscious and unresponsive” in her Brooklyn apartment after receiving a 911 call at 7:50 a.m. on June 17 reporting she’d suffered a possible cardiac arrest. EMS responders pronounced Burrell dead at the scene. 

Many questions still remain about the circumstances of Burrell’s death, which The New York Times reports is being investigated by authorities as a possible drug overdose. Citing an internal New York Police Department document they reviewed, the outlet claims Burrell was “discovered in the shower unconscious and unresponsive surrounded by approximately (100) assorted pills.”

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Says a source close to Burrell: “We’re all shocked and confused.” 

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One thing for certain is how much Burrell — known as much for her zany, larger-than-life personality and signature spiky, platinum blonde hair as her culinary technique — was loved both by fans and those closest to her.

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After news of her death broke, tributes poured in from her peers, including fellow chef Tyler Florence.

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“She was a force of nature,” he says. “That ‘it factor’ people talk about with celebrities? She had it in spades. She was so big people would just fall all over her.”

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Her absence was also deeply felt as the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen kicked off on June 19.

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“[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 said from 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.” 

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Born in Cazenovia, N.Y., in 1969, Burrell first developed a love for cooking from her mother’s homemade meals and by watching Julia Child on TV. In her junior year at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., Burrell took a job as a server at a local restaurant.

“A week into it, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is where I belong,’ like, restaurants. It’s like the land of misfit toys,” she said during a podcast appearance in 2022.

After graduating with a degree in English and communications, Burrell stayed on at the restaurant for another year before taking a job as a physician headhunter. She quickly grew unhappy.

“I was like, ‘I am 23 years old, and I am too young to be this miserable,’” Burrell recalled on the podcast. 

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She enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America and after graduating in 1996, she spent a year at a culinary school in Italy. She returned to N.Y.C. to work under celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich.

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In the early 2000s, Burrell transitioned into teaching at the Institute of Culinary Education and eventually made her way to television.

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Her first Food Network series, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, debuted in 2008. Over the course of four years and nine seasons, Burrell demonstrated to viewers how they could prepare restaurant-quality dishes at home. The show earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2011.

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“I try to take the fear factor out and let people know that it doesn’t have to be this awesome, daunting experience,” Burrell said in 2008. 

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In 2010, she and chef Beau MacMillan launched their hit Food Network cooking competition series Worst Cooks in America, which saw contestants with poor kitchen skills competing in a culinary boot camp for a cash prize. Burrell served as host for 27 of the show’s 28 seasons.

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“If people want to learn, I absolutely love to teach them,” Burrell said in 2020.

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Through the years, she also appeared on shows like Chef Wanted, Chopped, Food Network Star and, most recently, House of Knives in March.

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Chef Alex Guarnaschelli says part of what made Burrell so special was her “girl chef’s sensibility”: “She gave constant encouragement to invite other women into the field of cooking.” Adds chef Sunny Anderson: “She didn’t shrink for TV. TV kind of had to contain her.”

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Burrell’s final season of Worst Cooks will also premiere on Food Network on July 28. While preparing to film the season, Burrell’s co-host Gabe Bertaccini says he was nervous to work alongside her.

“Anne was a powerhouse and had been on the network for two decades,” he says. “I’m fairly new to the network, so I was equally excited and intimidated by her presence because she’s such an icon.”

Once he got to know her, his worries went away: “She was so gracious.” 

Outside of the kitchen, Burrell — who was previously engaged to fellow chef Koren Grieveson in 2012 — was a loving wife to her husband, Stuart Claxton, and stepmom to his son, Javier. She and Claxton met on the dating app Bumble in 2018 and got engaged in 2020.

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“Marriage was never a huge thing in my life that I was looking for,” Burrell told People after their engagement. “When I met Stuart, my opinion about all that changed.”

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Burrell wed Claxton in her hometown in 2021, with Rachael Ray serving as a bridesmaid.

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“You saw a different side of her when she was with Stuart, a gentler side,” says chef Antonia Lofaso. “The two of them were like best friends. You could tell their mutual love and respect came from a deep, rooted friendship.”

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At home, Burrell liked to spend time knitting, cheering on her beloved New York Rangers and gardening.

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“She had quite the green thumb,” says Guarnaschelli. “Anne was also a chef who loved to cook at home, and not all chefs are like that.” 

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During a podcast appearance in March, Burrell teased a potential career shift.

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“I can cook, yes, I can do TV, but also, what else? I’ve got more to do in my life, I feel like,” she said.

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That’s part of what prompted her to take her recent improv course.

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“I wonder if these delightful and super talented kids look at me and they’re like, ‘What’s this old lady doing here?’” she joked. “I feel very excited about it. Hopefully, exciting things [are] coming.”

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Though her plans were cut short, Burrell will live on in the chefs she taught both at home and on TV and in the memories of her loved ones.

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“She always used the word lucky,” recalls Florence. “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.”

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• Reporting by Sarah Jones, Emily Rella and Gillian Telling