Lynja facts for kids
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Lynn T. Yamada
July 31, 1956 New York City, U.S.
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| Died | January 1, 2024 (aged 67) Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S.
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| Other names | Lynn Yamada Davis | |||
| Occupations | Cook, engineer | |||
| Children | 4, including Sean | |||
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Last updated: January 15, 2024 |
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Lynn Yamada Davis (July 31, 1956 – January 1, 2024), better known by her online alias Lynja, was an American celebrity chef who was best known for her viral TikTok and YouTube Shorts videos. Praised for its quick-styled edits and references to internet memes, "Cooking with Lynja" accumulated over 10 million subscribers on YouTube and 20 million followers on TikTok as of January 15, 2024.
Davis earned degrees from MIT and Columbia Business School. She worked at AT&T Labs for 29 years. Her interest in video-making flourished in 2020, when she was 63. Ever since her videos grew viral, she won three Streamy Awards.
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Early life and career
Lynn T. Yamada was born in New York City on July 31, 1956, to Mabel Fujisake and Tadao Yamada. She was a third-generation Japanese-American and grew up in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
She attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning a degree in civil engineering in 1977. During her time at MIT, she was the chairwoman for The Tech student newspaper. Following her graduation, she was employed by the government and worked to ensure the accessibility of federal buildings. She went on to earn degrees in public health and business administration from Columbia Business School.
Davis worked at AT&T Labs for 29 years as a project manager and systems engineer.
TikTok videos
Davis began creating videos for TikTok in 2020, when she was 63. The idea for the videos came from her youngest son, Tim Davis, who was honing his video editing skills, while they were in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. He helped shoot and edit each of her "Cooking with Lynja" videos since 2020. The videos were praised by Vice for their simple recipes, clever editing techniques, and writing style. The videos also reference viral memes, including the Grimace Shake trend. In 2021, "Cooking with Lynja" won "Best Editing" at the 11th Streamy Awards. The next year, "Cooking with Lynja" won "Best Food" and "Best Editing" at the 12th Streamy Awards. In 2022, Davis signed with WME and was featured on Forbes Top 50 creators list.
She frequently collaborated with Nick DiGiovanni, including a video in November 2021 where they broke the Guinness World Record for the largest ever cake pop, which weighed 97 pounds 8.52 ounces (44.240 kg). She broke several other records with DiGiovanni, including the world's largest chicken nugget, which weighed 20.96 kg (46.2 lb), and the world's largest sushi roll, which measured at 2.15 metres (7 ft 1 in) in diameter. She was named to Forbes "50 Over 50" list in 2023. Her fans are called "Lynja-turtles", a pun of Ninja Turtles.
Illness and death
In 2019, Davis was diagnosed with throat cancer, which caused her voice to change. Davis likened her new voice to Marge Simpson's voice. In 2021, she announced that she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Subsequently she made a video called "Cookies for Cancer" in which she made cookies in celebration of finishing her cancer treatment. The cancer returned in 2023 and she died from complications of the disease at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, New Jersey, on January 1, 2024, at the age of 67. A private funeral, attended by close friends and family members, was held on January 9, three days before her death was announced on social media by her son in a post in which he shared photos and memories of her life. Later that day, DiGiovanni made a farewell video in honor of Lynja showcasing his favorite memories of being with her. Other cooking YouTubers also dedicated tributes to Lynja.
Personal life
Davis lived in Holmdel Township, New Jersey. Davis married Hank Steinberg, having two daughters together, though the marriage ended in divorce. Following their divorce, she married Keith Davis with whom she had two sons, professional soccer player Sean Davis and "Cooking with Lynja" editor Tim Davis.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
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| 2021 | 11th Streamy Awards | Editing | Won | |
| Food | Nominated | |||
| 2022 | 12th Streamy Awards | Editing | Won | |
| Food | Won | |||
| 2023 | 13th Streamy Awards | Editing | Nominated | |
| Food | Nominated |
See also
In Spanish: Lynja para niños
