- The celebrity chef hanged himself in a Kaysersberg, France hotel room while in town to shoot an episode of his CNN show Parts Unknown
- His friend Éric Ripert, owner of New York’s Le Bernardin and an Alsace native, found him dead
- Bourdain, 61, rose to fame with his memoir Kitchen Confidential, and became a household name with his popular TV shows
- He was married twice and leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter, Ariane
- Most recently, Bourdain was dating actress Asia Argento
- It’s unclear if they were still together since Argento was pictured out with journalist Hugo Clement in Rome this week
- Last week, Bourdain bought a painting with the ominous title ‘The sky is falling, I am learning to live with it’
Celebrity chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain committed suicide on Friday at the age of 61, in a shocking death that has stunned the food world.
Bourdain hanged himself in his room at the Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg, France, where he was filming an upcoming episode of his CNN show Parts Unknown, according to French media. Rooms at the hotel sell for $263 to $423 U.S. dollars a night.
His close friend Éric Ripert, owner of New York City’s famed Le Bernardin restaurant, found him dead Friday morning.
‘It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain,’ CNN said in a statement Friday morning.
‘His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller. His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time.’
CNN President Jeff Zucker added in a company-wide email: ‘Tony was an exceptional talent. Tony will be greatly missed not only for his work but also for the passion with which he did it.
Bourdain was married twice, first to high school sweetheart Nancy Putkowski, and then to MMA fighter Ottavia Busia, who he has an 11-year-old daughter with named Ariane.
A late in life father, Bourdain talked adoringly of his only child in interviews.
‘I was 50 when I became a father of a little girl. I was finally old enough to be qualified for the job. Ariane has me wrapped around her finger,’ Bourdain told The Guardian in 2013. ‘All I can realistically hope for is that she feels loved. That she has high self-esteem. And good martial-arts skills.’
While Bourdain detailed his drug abuse in his books and TV shows, he never appeared to be dealing with mental illness or depression.
However, last week, Bourdain bought a painting with the ominous title ‘The world is falling down, I am learning to live with it’.
There were also signs that his romance with actress Asia Argento may have been on the fritz.
After Bourdain broke up with his second wife in 2016, he met Argento while filming an episode of Parts Unknown in December of that year.
Argento was one of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers, and when she told her story to the New Yorker in October 2016, he supported her with a loving message on Twitter.
‘I am proud and honored to know you. You just did the hardest thing in the world,’ Bourdain wrote.
However, it’s unknown if she and Bourdain were still together since Argento was pictured laughing and hugging reporter Hugo Clement in the streets of Rome on Monday.
According to both Argento and Bourdain’s social media accounts, the two looked as if they were still in a relationship. Less than two weeks ago, both posted the same loved up shot of themselves together in Firenze, Italy, shooting another episode together.
Just two hours before the news of Bourdain’s death was announced on CNN, Argento posted a photo of herself to Instagram stories, wearing a ‘f*** everyone’ t-shirt showing Bourdain’s idol Sid Vicious. She wrote on the image: ‘You know who you are’.
Bourdain was born in New York City in 1956, and was raised in New Jersey by French music executive Pierre Bourdain and his wife Gladys, a staff editor at the New York Times. He credited summers spent in France as a child with his obsession with food.
His childhood also sparked his drug addiction. In a 2013 interview with the Guardian, he said he got into using drugs because of the normalcy of his suburban upbringing.
‘I deeply resented the relative stability at my house. I started taking drugs as soon as I encountered them,’ Bourdain said.
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