[Nicky91]

https://www.papermag.com/anna-shay-b...650239329.html

There's something utterly magnetic about Anna Shay, the incredibly rich and mysterious breakout star of Netflix's "Bling Empire," that most people can't quite put a finger on. Is it that fact that she has penis pumps casually lying in her home? Or that she can take a spontaneous trip to Paris on her jet to visit her favorite restaurant? Or that her billionaire father was a literal weapons dealer?

What's clear is that none of these things particularly faze Shay, the half-Japanese half-Russian socialite who just turned 60 a few days ago. Unlike, say, some of her fellow castmates, she doesn't feel the need to flaunt her latest jewelry purchase or brag about her wealth. Perhaps it's that unassuming, mild-mannered nature that has helped capture the hearts of millions of viewers, earning her the unofficial title of the people's queen.

She's equally as soft-spoken over the phone when she calls in from her estate in Bel-Air, the ritzy residential enclave in LA. "Anna Shay ain't all that," she assures me. This despite living a life that sounds like something off a Great Gatsby novel: divorced four times, daughter of an aristocratic mother, throwing elaborate parties during Oscars weekend, friends with all the top designers.

But as those who've binged the entire series know too well, Shay is not someone who has to prove anything to anyone. She's lived. She knows you might not be on her level, but somehow you feel at ease about it. Yes, she has all the resources in the world, but what she values above all else, as each episode demonstrates, is friendship and loyalty.