Lynn Yamada Davis, a TikTok creator who delighted millions with her zany style and cooking tips on her account, Cooking With Lynja, died on January 1 at Riverview Medical Center in New Jersey. She was 67 and lived in Holmdel, New Jersey.
The cause was esophageal cancer, according to her daughter, Hannah Mariko Shofet.
Ms. Davis and her youngest child, Tim Davis, began creating the wholesome Cooking With Lynja videos in 2020 to help him maintain his cinematography skills during the pandemic lockdown.
Her social media accounts remained active after her death because she had asked him to post previously edited videos. One such video depicts the two of them searching for truffles in Italy.
“My mom was like my partner in crime,” Mr. Davis, 27, who edited the TikTok account, said in an interview on Thursday.
Mr. Davis also said she asked him to post a few older videos they made together about a decade ago.
Those early versions of what would later become an international TikTok sensation known for zany humor and lightheartedness were a way for Mr. Davis to learn how to cook the food his mother prepared, “as well as have a time capsule,” he said.
Cooking with Lynja TikTok account will stop posting videos now
Tim Davis stated that once the last Cooking with Lynja videos featuring Ms. Davis are uploaded, the account will stop posting.
More than three years later, the Cooking with Lynja YouTube channel has nearly ten million subscribers, while her Instagram account has over two million.
Forbes named Ms. Davis to its “50 over 50” list in 2022, and she received Streamy Awards for her work in editing and food. She attended the Forbes Women’s Summit in Abu Dhabi in 2023 and participated in a panel discussion.
Lynn Yamada Davis was born on July 31, 1956, in New York City, but spent most of her childhood in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Her father, Tadao Yamada, was a businessman, while her mother, Mabel Fujisake Yamada, was a homemaker.
She received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977, followed by a master’s degree in business administration and public health from Columbia University’s Business School.
Ms. Shofet stated that she worked for Bell Labs (now AT&T Labs) and had a long career in telecommunications prior to her unexpected TikTok success.
“She had this whole chapter as a groundbreaking female engineer, and she was very proud of that,” Ms. Shofet said.
But as a TikTok star, she’d be recognized all over the world, including Japan and Italy, where she was traveling with her youngest son.
Ms. Davis’s other son, Sean Davis, is a professional soccer player who previously played as a midfielder for the New York Red Bulls and now represents the Nashville Soccer Club.
“She was my first coach,” he explained. When she visited him in Nashville, he said she was frequently recognized on the street, often by young people who use TikTok extensively.
“That’s how I realized how famous she was,” Sean Davis said, “People would ask for pictures and I would take the picture.”
Most importantly, Ms. Davis had a great time at “cooking with Lynja”, as evidenced by the videos, according to Tim Davis. With special effects featuring tiny versions of Ms. Davis flying across the screen and quotes like “Lynja’s got that dope!” her videos drew in viewers from multiple generations. Her videos show her preparing a variety of foods, including crispy sandwiches or potatoes, karate chop Ramen noodles, and much more.
What happened to Lynn Yamada Davis?
Ms. Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019, which altered the tone of her voice. In 2021, she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and completed treatment. In one video, Davis is seen baking (a lot of) cookies for the medical personnel who treated her.
In addition to Ms. Shofet and Tim and Sean Davis, Ms. Davis is survived by her second husband, Keith Davis; another daughter, Becky Steinberg; two siblings, Jay Yamada and Karen Dolce Yamada; and two grandchildren.
Ms. Davis’ previous marriage to Hank Steinberg ended in divorce.
In her final years, Ms. Davis had the opportunity to travel around the world, meet people, and cook and eat incredible food. Sean Davis stated on Thursday, “I just think her final chapter was exactly how she would have wanted it to be written.”