Lynn Yamada Davis: Popular social media star and the face of Cooking with Lynja dies at 67

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Beloved social media star Lynn Yamada Davis, who was behind Cooking with Lynja, has breathed her last at the age of 67. According to The New York Times, Davis died on January 1 at Riverview Medical Center in New Jersey. Her daughter, Hannah Mariko Shofet, told the outlet that the cause of her death was esophageal cancer.

Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019 and esophageal cancer in 2021, as per The New York Times.

Lynn Yamada Davis was known for her quirky cooking videos 

The popular content creator was known for her over-the-top, comedically edited cooking videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, which began during the Covid-19 pandemic. The mother-of-four and grandmother-of-two said last summer that she had “no idea” what TikTok was before her son, Tim, started posting videos of her there.

Davis’s videographer son asked her to participate in a casual month-long project to record a video every day at the start of the pandemic. However, as the lockdown continued, the mother-son duo went on creating cooking videos for YouTube and eventually TikTok with Tim behind the camera and Davis taking the centerstage.

“He's the one who writes the script. He's the one who does the videography. He does all the editing. So, he really is the genius behind Cooking with Lynja. I just show up,” Davis said.

Lynn Yamada Davis had millions of followers on social media accounts 

Just a few months after she started to share the clips, the former software engineer’s zany bacon, egg and cheese recipe video blew up online and her fame “just started growing after that.”

Now, more than three years later, the Cooking with Lynja TikTok page has 17.5 million followers, her YouTube account has nearly 10 million subscribers and her Instagram account has more than two million.

Lynn Yamada Davis had a long career as an engineer

Before she rose to fame, Davis had a long career as an engineer. After going to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for her undergraduate degree, she worked for the federal government to make federal buildings accessible. She then earned her MBA and MPH at Columbia University before working at AT&T Labs. She was a systems engineer and project manager during her 29 years here.

“She had this whole chapter as a groundbreaking female engineer, and she was very proud of that,” Shofet told The New York Times. Davis said that while the comments from fans asking her to be their grandmother are sweet,  the travel opportunities have been one of her favorite parts of her internet fame. 

She traveled to Japan with frequent collaborator and fellow food TikToker Nick DiGiovanni last summer. In 2022, Davis flew to the United Arab Emirates Forbes’ Women’s Summit, where she was named one of Forbes' Top 50 over 50 Creators and won a Streamy Award in the editing and food categories.

She also loved how she got to spend time with her family while doing Cooking with Lynja. “It's definitely a big family affair for us, and it's very nice,” she said, adding “We have lots of family memories from this time. It’s just wonderful.”

Lynn Yamada Davis' social media accounts remain active after her death

Since her death, Davis' social media accounts have remained active. She asked Tim to continue to post edited videos, according to The New York Times. The account will stop posting after the last Cooking with Lynja videos that feature Davis are uploaded, Tim told the outlet.

“It's a joy to wake up and know you're going to have a good day,” Davis said of her life as an influencer, adding “It is a lovely change in my life, definitely.”