Los Angeles philanthropist Wallis Annenberg, who has been named for several of the many community projects she funded, died at 86.
Annenberg died of lung cancer at her home in Los Angeles, according to a statement posted to Instagram by Annenberg Genspace, the research center she founded.
Annenberg has provided substantial donations to causes of art, education and animal welfare in Southern California, including Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which provides routes to mountain lions and other animals across the 101 highway in Agoura Hills.
Annenberg’s financial support was also important for the Wallis Annenberg building at the California Science Center at Expo Park, the Wallis Annenberg Arts Center in Beverly Hills, the Wallis Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica, and the Gen’s Space in Wallis Annenberg, South Korea.
The heirs of the Walter Annenberg Publishing Empire served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Annenberg Foundation. Her father started the Charitable Foundation in 1989 after the sale of television guides and other publications.
Annenberg worked for TV Guides and became the foundation’s vice president after his father passed away in 2002. After her stepmother passed away in 2009, Annenberg took over the foundation.
See rendering of wildlife crossing the 101 highway in Agra Hills
She expanded the scope of causes that were defended by the Foundation to include wildlife in the vast urban-wide Lands Cape in Los Angeles. The Naitonal Wildlife Federation said the foundation has donated $26 million to the #Savelacougars campaign, which includes the construction of the 101 Freeway Wildlife Bridge.
“Walris Annenberg’s vision for wildlife conservation has impacted millions of people in California and around the world. Her generosity and the work of the Annenberg Foundation helps build the world’s largest wildlife crossing, rekindling her interest in what she calls “environmental rejuvenation,” and showing how people and wildlife thrive. “The National Wildlife Federation, more than 7 million members and supporters, and the conservation community are expanding into our deepest, pathetic dol families.”
The world’s largest intersection is expected to be completed in 2026.
In an Instagram post, Genspace said: “Our hearts are broken with the passing of our beloved founder, Wallis Annenberg.
“Her vision and commitment spanned many issues. Her resolve to not experience social isolation led her to an open Genspace in April 2022.
In a statement, Wallis Annenberg Petspace opened in 2017 to support the adoption and education of animals about animal-to-animal bonds, Annenberg said, “a generous and enduring legacy of caring, a rich and enduring legacy of influence, and a generous and enduring legacy that has changed the nation, the world and the world in many ways.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom is called a visionary whose contribution to community efforts in California goes beyond financial support.
“Wallis Annenberg was a visionary and believed not only in the better world, but in the Kinder world,” Newsom said in a statement. “She has addressed a wider range of social issues, including medical research, economic development, and funding for environmental protection, but she deeply believed in supporting American rights in the pursuit of happiness. She was always determined to find new ways to achieve a better, more enjoyable quality of life, to help people connect with each other.
“Wallis believed in the community, by helping innovators who can create and expand the environment that mean older people facing social isolation, children in need of homes, or older people who are trying to cross dangerous highways, she knew she could only go to money and that it was people who made all the difference.
“California excels for everything she did, and her enormous heart and incredible generosity. Jen and I will be part of all those who lament this incredible woman, but we know that her legacy is carried over by her family, the work she has accomplished, and those who empowered her to create a better world.”
