“Cooking with Lynja” star Lynn Yamada Davis, the TikTok creator referred to as “the internet’s grandma” and beloved for her quirky, academic cooking content material, has died. She was 67.
Her daughter Hannah Mariko Shofet informed The New York Times that Davis died of esophageal most cancers on January 1. Her youngest son and co-creator of her social media channels, Tim Davis, introduced his mom’s dying in videos posted online on Friday.
“I’m super sad to inform you that unfortunately, Linda, my mom, has passed away,” Tim Davis stated. “Her final moments were super peaceful, and thankfully she was surrounded by the people she loved most: her friends and family.”
A mom of 4 and grandmother of two, Davis’ cheerful demeanor and eccentric modifying type was adored by viewers on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. At first look, Davis could have appeared as one other maternal cooking present host, however her exuberance and the flamboyant visuals in her content material gained over a youthful viewers. As one TikTok commenter said, “on the outside this grandma looks like a boomer, but inside she’s straight up a zoomer.”
Earlier than her dying, she amassed 17.8 million TikTok followers and practically 10 million YouTube subscribers.
Though she was the face of the channel, Davis credited her son Tim, 27, for her on-line success. The channel began out as a pandemic undertaking — in 2020, her son requested her to report a video on daily basis in order that he might maintain his modifying abilities polished through the lockdown. Davis beforehand informed People that she had “no idea” what TikTok was till Tim began posting her movies on-line.
Lynn Yamada Davis and her son, Tim Davis, attend the 2023 Streamy Awards. Picture Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Photos
“He’s the one who writes the script. He’s the one who does the videography. He does all the editing,” Davis stated. “So, he really is the genius behind Cooking with Lynja. I just show up.”
The duo first went viral with a June 2020 video about bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, which obtained over 313,000 likes. As their viewership grew with each viral recipe video and journey vlog, Davis additionally documented her battle with most cancers. She was identified with throat most cancers in 2019 and esophageal most cancers in 2021. In a 2021 video about making cookies to thank healthcare employees at Memorial Sloan Kettering Most cancers Middle, she informed viewers, “I’m doing great, and I love making these videos for you.”
In 2022, Cooking with Lynja gained Streamy Awards within the meals and modifying classes. She was additionally honored as a Forbes’ 50 over 50 creator that 12 months.
Earlier than she was a content material creator, Davis was an completed engineer — a feat for ladies of colour on the time. She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how in 1977 with a level in civil engineering, after which obtained her grasp’s in enterprise administration and public well being from Columbia College. She labored in telecommunications for Bell Labs (now AT&T), her daughter informed The New York Instances.
However to many on-line, she was the web’s grandma. Tim Davis informed The New York Instances that his mom requested him to proceed posting unreleased content material after her dying, which is why her account remained energetic this month. In the latest video, Tim Davis confirmed viewers photographs of his mom all through her life.
“She is so intelligent and elegant in this picture,” Tim Davis stated. “And when I think of my mom, this is who I think of. The internet’s grandma. She was the best. So glad that you guys all got to experience how wonderful of a person she was, and how you guys treated her so well. So thank you for these last couple of years, we had so much fun making videos.”
