Anne Burrell, Beloved ‘Worst Cooks’ Host and TV Chef, Dies at 55 in New York
Anne Burrell, the fiery-haired, high-energy chef who helped novice cooks overcome their culinary fears on Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America, has died. She was 55.
Burrell was found unresponsive at her Brooklyn residence on the morning of June 17, 2025. Authorities responded to a 911 call reporting a possible cardiac arrest at 7:50 a.m., and she was pronounced dead on the scene. While the New York City medical examiner has yet to issue an official cause of death, early reports point to a suspected cardiac event.
The Food Network, where Burrell had become a household name over the past two decades, confirmed the news. In a statement, the network praised her as a "remarkable person and culinary talent" whose love for food and teaching shaped the lives of millions of viewers.
Born on September 21, 1969, in Cazenovia, New York, Burrell grew up helping out at her family’s flower shop. After earning a degree in English and communications from Canisius University, she briefly worked as a headhunter before switching gears to pursue her real passion—cooking. That decision led her to the Culinary Institute of America and later to advanced studies in Italy.
She spent her early professional years working in elite New York restaurants before being discovered by Food Network producers. Viewers were drawn to her no-nonsense attitude, signature spiky platinum-blonde hair, and her knack for making cooking approachable.
Burrell’s television career took off with appearances on Iron Chef America before she earned her own hosting gig on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef in 2008. But it was Worst Cooks in America—which debuted in 2010—that made her a true star. For 27 seasons, Burrell guided kitchen rookies through high-stakes cooking bootcamps, transforming disastrous dishes like cayenne-peanut butter cod and pineapple pasta into something borderline edible.
Behind the entertainment was a fierce educator. “If people want to learn, I absolutely love to teach them,” she once said on Good Morning America. Her fans, and even some of her worst contestants, would likely agree that she did exactly that.
Burrell continued to appear on TV until just months before her death. In April 2025, she was seen cooking chicken Milanese on NBC’s Today, and she participated in Food Network’s House of Knives earlier in the year.
Outside of her on-screen work, Burrell published two well-received cookbooks—Cook Like a Rock Star and Own Your Kitchen—and supported causes including food pantries and juvenile diabetes campaigns. Her own favorite dish, however, was simple: her mother’s tuna fish sandwich.
Burrell married marketing executive Stuart Claxton in 2021 and had a close relationship with his son. She is survived by her husband, stepson, mother, and two siblings.
In one of her final public remarks, made during a podcast appearance on I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, Burrell reflected on her relentless drive in the kitchen: “When things like that happen, you just push on. You don’t even think about it. You just carry on… What do we have to do?”
That grit and generosity will remain her lasting legacy—not just on television, but in the kitchens of every home cook she inspired.