Reality TV is full of mysterious stars, but Bling Empire's Anna Shay may be the most enigmatic of them all. The famously reclusive Los Angeles heiress was largely absent from the city's social scene until she filmed the show, only emerging from her West Coast mansion to fly to Paris on a whim or show up her rival Christina Chiu at a glitzy event. But despite Anna's penchant for privacy, she's already gained a loyal following since Netflix's show about several wealthy Asian Americans debuted. If these tweets about Anna from Bling Empire are any indication, she's already become a new reality TV icon.
Bling Empire viewers met Anna in a particularly memorable way, as she impulsively decided to take a sledgehammer to one of the walls in her walk-in closet before attending a party... while dressed in a lavish ball gown. Coming from old money has enabled her to live however she wants, so why not make some home improvements on her way out the door?
Anna is the oldest member of the Bling Empire cast, and part of the fun of watching her is seeing what role she'll play in her younger friends' (and nemeses') lives. From casually deciding to take Kelly Mi Li to Paris for lunch to attempting to set up Kevin Kreider on a date, Anna seemed to be everywhere. And since she has more life experience than the others on the show, she was also refreshingly real about all the show's drama, making her weirdly relatable for a mega-rich heiress.
As a result, Anna quickly became a fan-favorite among Bling Empire viewers, with many fans flocking to Twitter to proclaim their love for the soft-spoken TV star.
Throughout the first season of Bling Empire, Anna had an ongoing feud with rising socialite Christine Chiu, who seemed to often feel threatened by Anna's old-money status and occasionally petty antics. But if Twitter is any indication, audiences are largely on Anna's side.
Many viewers were also particularly taken with Anna's classic advice for her friend Kelly's relationship troubles with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Andrew Gray, which was quotable reality TV gold.
Let's all hope Netflix renews Bling Empire for a second season so fans can get more priceless Anna content (and maybe find out a little more about what was going on with her shower).
Bling Empire Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
