Lynn Ban, the jewelry designer known for starring in Netflix’s Bling Empire: New York, is dead at 54, following emergency brain surgery due to a skiing accident. Her son told the world of his mother’s death in a post on Ban’s Instagram account. “She was and always will be my best friend, the best mother to me, and someone who cared for all,” he wrote in the post. “She always had a smile on her face even when times were tough during her recovery process. She was a fighter until the end and is the strongest woman I know.” He added, “As a final message to my mum, I would just like to say that I will miss you forever and to end in something she always told me ‘I love you more than life itself.’” Rihanna was among the mourners in the comments, writing, “Lynn you will always be our fairy godmother! Love you forever and always!”
Ban first shared her surgery with the public on December 30. She was skiing with her family in Aspen on Christmas Eve when she got into what she thought was a minor accident. A CAT scan revealed a brain bleed. “There’s a long road of recovery ahead but I’m a survivor and grateful to ski patrol,” she wrote in the original post. Ban is the second cast member of Bling Empire to die suddenly. Anna Shay died at 62 in 2023.