Lynn T. Yamada Davis (July 31, 1956 – January 1, 2024),

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

better known by her online alias Lynja, was an American online

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in Books, printed publications. While telev ...

known for her viral

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

and

YouTube Shorts YouTube Shorts is the short-form section of the online video-sharing platform YouTube. YouTube Shorts are vertical videos that have a duration of up to 180 seconds, and has various features for user interaction. Videos were limited to 60 ...

videos from 2020 until her death in 2024. Praised for her quick-styled editing and references to popular

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

s, "Cooking with Lynja" accumulated over 13.9 million subscribers on YouTube and over 22 million followers on TikTok as of February 2025. Davis earned degrees from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

and

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and one of ...

. She worked at

AT&T Labs AT&T Labs, Inc. (formerly AT&T Laboratories, Inc.) is the research & development division of AT&T, the telecommunications company. It employs some 1,800 people in various locations, including: Bedminster, New Jersey; Middletown Township, New J ...

for 29 years. Her interest in video-making flourished in 2020, when she was 63. Since going viral, she won three

Streamy Awards The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are an awards show presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and wr ...

and built up a fanbase of dedicated viewers.

Early life and career

Lynn T. Yamada was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, on July 31, 1956, to Mabel Fujisake and Tadao Yamada. She was a third-generation

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in ranking to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

and grew up in Fort Lee,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

; she represented Japan in all of her ''Guinness World Records'' attempts. She attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

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 (then Bell Labs) for 29 years as a project manager and systems engineer.

Online career

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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in March 2020. He helped shoot and edit each of her "Cooking with Lynja" videos since 2020. The videos were praised by ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' 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 11th Annual Streamy Awards was the eleventh installment of the Streamy Awards honoring the best in American streaming television series and their creators. The ceremony was held on December 11, 2021, hosted by Larray and livestreamed exclusiv ...

. The next year, "Cooking with Lynja" won "Best Food" and "Best Editing" at the

12th Streamy Awards The 12th Annual Streamy Awards was the twelfth installment of the Streamy Awards honoring the best in American streaming television series and their creators. The ceremony was held in The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on December 4, ...

. In 2022, Davis signed with WME and was featured on ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' Top 50 creators list. She frequently collaborated with fellow internet celebrity chef

Nick DiGiovanni Nicholas Channing DiGiovanni (born May 19, 1996) is an American chef and Internet personality who has set multiple food-related Guinness world records. Early life Nick DiGiovanni was born on May 19, 1996, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Chris ...

, including a video in November 2021 where they broke the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the largest ever

cake pop A cake pop is a form of cake styled as a lollipop. Cake crumbs are mixed with Icing (food), icing or chocolate, and formed into small spheres or cubes in the same way as cake balls, before being given a coating of icing, chocolate or other deco ...

, which weighed . She broke several other records with DiGiovanni, including the world's largest

chicken nugget A chicken nugget is a food product consisting of a small piece of deboned chicken meat that is breaded or battered, then deep-fried or baked. Developed in the 1950s by finding a way to make a coating adhere, chicken nuggets have become a ver ...

, which weighed and the world's largest sushi roll, which measured at in diameter. She was named to ''Forbes'' "50 Over 50" list in 2023. Her fans are called "Lynja-turtles", a play on words to the

Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained ...

Personal life

Davis lived in

Holmdel Township, New Jersey Holmdel is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located near Raritan Bay in the Raritan Valley Region, the township is a regional commercial hub of Central Jersey, home to Bell Labs and PNC Bank Arts Center, and a ...

. 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.

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 Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family (The Simpsons). Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' s ...

from ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

.'' In 2021, she announced that she was diagnosed with

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

. 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 Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York metro ...

, on January 1, 2024, aged 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, fellow celebrity chef

made a farewell video honoring Lynja by showcasing his favorite memories being with her.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Streamy Awards Winners CSS 1956 births 2024 deaths 21st-century American women American people of Japanese descent American TikTokers AT&T people Chefs from New Jersey Chefs from New York City Columbia Business School alumni Deaths from esophageal cancer in New Jersey Food and cooking YouTubers Fort Lee High School alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni People from Fort Lee, New Jersey People from Holmdel Township, New Jersey Streamy Award winners YouTubers from New York City YouTubers from New Jersey