Anne Burrell had a zest for life that endeared her to Food Network viewers.
She was sadly found dead in her home earlier this week, and speculation about the circumstances of her death is rampant.
Anne reportedly suffered cardiac arrest, and her body was surrounded by pills.
Now, a friend of hers is opening up about Anne’s larger-than-life personality and what her plans were at the time of her death.
‘She made everything fun. She was a true force of nature,’ a friend of Burrell’s told Page Six.
‘Her personality was so big,’ they said, noting that there was a dark side to her fame.

Anne Burrell had a zest for life that endeared her to Food Network viewers
Anne rose to fame on the Food Network alongside Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri but for her, that spotlight cast a long shadow.
‘I know she kind of struggled — once she was on TV and was on her way to be a TV celebrity chef,’ the friend told Page Six.
‘She was famous, she was doing the food and wine circuit stuff. She was busy — I kind of felt like she wasn’t totally happy,’ the friend added.
‘People with big personalities sometimes mask things.’
Anne had plans to expand her horizons and try her hand at acting and was even taking improv classes before her tragic passing at 55.
She appeared on Tori Spelling’s Misspelling podcast back in March and said: ‘Interestingly, I just started taking acting classes. I started yesterday, actually… It’s like an improv for actors’ class.
‘I got there and it’s like eight people in the class. I’m the oldest one. Every other person has like, “Oh, I have a master’s in fine arts in theater.”‘
Burrell showed off her self-awareness and sense of humor that her fans were familiar with as she joked about the age gap between she and her fellow students.

She was sadly found dead in her home earlier this week and speculation about the circumstances of her death are rampant. Seen here April 22, 2025

Anne reportedly suffered cardiac arrest and her body was surrounded by pills. Seen here October 15, 2022

Now a friend of hers is opening up about Anne’s larger than life personality and what her plans were at the time of her death

‘She made everything fun. She was a true force of nature,’ a friend of Burrell’s told Page Six
She said: ‘I’m like, “okay, I’ve never taken an acting class. I don’t know, this is new to me.”
‘I wonder if these delightful and super talented kids look at me and they’re like, “What’s this old lady doing here?”‘
The television personality had taken a break from her show Worst Cooks In America for season 28 which baffled many fans and Spelling, 52, asked at the time what led her to that decision.
Burrell answered: ‘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 also admitted that she was just ‘dipping my toe’ when it came to the pivot to acting.
Burrell explained: ‘I feel very excited about it. I’ve got a few other things that I’m working on as well, which I’m not quite ready to share yet. Hopefully, exciting [are] things coming.’
‘I wonder if these delightful and super talented kids look at me and they’re like, “What’s this old lady doing here?”‘
The television personality had taken a break from her show Worst Cooks In America for season 28.

‘Her personality was so big,’ they said, noting that there was a dark side to her fame
The decision baffled many fans, and Spelling, 52, questioned what prompted it at the time.
Burrell answered: ‘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 also admitted that she was just ‘dipping my toe’ when it came to the pivot to acting.
Burrell explained: ‘I feel very excited about it. I’ve got a few other things that I’m working on as well, which I’m not quite ready to share yet. Hopefully, exciting [are] things coming.’