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Anne Burrell suicide: Officials confirm cause of death; mention at least 4 drugs in report
Anne Burrell, beloved Food Network chef and TV personality, died by suicide, officials confirmed in a report
Anne Burrell, beloved Food Network chef and TV personality, died by suicide, officials confirmed in a report on Thursday. People cited sources to report that the New York City medical examiner's office noted that the 55-year-old took a combination of at least four drugs before she was declared dead on June 17.
According to the publication, Burrell's cause of death is specified as ‘acute intoxication due to the combined effects of diphenhydramine, ethanol, cetirizine, and amphetamine’. Under the manner of death section, the examiner's office confirmed - ‘suicide’.
At the moment, Burrell's family has not reacted to the cause of death report.
This comes weeks after police were called to Burrell's address before 8 AM on June 17. Officers found an unresponsive woman who was soon pronounced dead.
Burrell was on TV screens as recently as April, making chicken Milanese cutlets topped with escarole salad in one of her many appearances on NBC's “Today” show. She faced off against other top chefs on the Food Network's “House of Knives” earlier in the spring.
“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,” the network said in a statement.
Burrell was born Sept. 21, 1969, in the central New York town of Cazenovia, where her parents ran a flower store. She earned an English and communications degree from Canisius University and went on to a job as a headhunter but hated it, she said in a 2008 interview with The Post-Standard of Syracuse.
Having always loved cooking, she soon enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, for which she later taught. She graduated in 1996, spent a year at an Italian culinary school and then worked in upscale New York City restaurants for a time.
She was survived by her husband, Stuart Claxton, whom she married in 2021, and his son, her mother and her two siblings.
“Anne’s light radiated far beyond those she knew, touching millions across the world,” the family said in a statement released by the Food Network.
(With AP inputs)
