Anthony Bourdain, Famed Food Critic, Dead at 61

The television personality was found dead in France of an apparent suicide.

Famed food critic, chef, author and TV personality Anthony Bourdain has died.

CNN confirmed the news on Friday morning that Bourdain had passed away at the age of 61. Bourdain was in France working on his CNN series, Parts Unknown, at the time of his death.

Bourdain reportedly died of an apparent suicide. He was found by his close friend Eric Ripert, a French chef, in his hotel room on Friday morning, CNN reported. 

"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," the network said in a statement to ET. "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."

Bourdain is survived by his 11-year-old daughter, Ariane, and his girlfriend, Asia Argento. 

His death comes just days after fashion designer, Kate Spade, took her own life at the age of 55.

Within minutes of the news breaking, stars and celebrity chefs alike began sharing their grief on social media.

Model and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen tweeted, "Anthony. One of my idols. Unapologetic, passionate and one of the best storytellers on the planet," model and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen wrote on Twitter. "Thank you for making food so exciting. And always standing up for everything right. Horrible. Why why why. Be at peace now."

And chef Gordon Ramsay tweeted, "Stunned and saddened by the loss of Anthony Bourdain. He brought the world into our homes and inspired so many people to explore cultures and cities through their food. Remember that help is a phone call away US:1-800-273-TALK UK: 116 123."

Bourdain opened up to ET last October about how his time abroad impacted him as a person. 

“What also stays with me is that over the years, I’ve been treated so warmly and fed so well with such delicious food often by people who have very, very little, who have a tradition out of necessity of making every little bit of what they have into something that’s deeply satisfying and delicious and that they’re proud of," he recalled at the time. 

In addition to his work on television and as a food critic, Bourdain also made headlines last year when he penned a December 2017 essay on Medium in support of the #MeToo movement following allegations against chefs Mario Batali and Ken Friedman. 

“Any admiration I have expressed in the past for Mario Batali and Ken Friedman, whatever I might feel about them, however much I admired and respected them, is, in light of these charges, irrelevant,” he wrote at the time. “In these current circumstances, one must pick a side. I stand unhesitatingly and unwaveringly with the women. Not out of virtue, or integrity, or high moral outrage — as much as I’d like to say so — but because late in life, I met one extraordinary woman with a particularly awful story to tell, who introduced me to other extraordinary women with equally awful stories.”

That woman was Argento, Bourdain's girlfriend, who also came forward last year as one of Harvey Weinstein's accusers. Another Weinstein accuser, Rose McGowan took to Twitter on Friday where she shared a tearful video, declaring she was "so mad" at Bourdain, adding, "The world is not better without you." 

In November, Bourdain spoke on Late Night with Seth Meyers about apologizing for perpetuating the "meathead" culture in the food industry. 

"I think in some ways I kind of provided validation for kind of a meathead mentality, a meathead bro culture that has not been good, particularly for women," he said. "I don't want to think I lowered the level of discourse, but I don't think I helped it."

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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