Longtime Southland philanthropist Wallis Annenberg — whose family name graces everything from a performing arts center in Beverly Hills to a wildlife crossing in Agoura Hills — died Monday at her Los Angeles home from complications of lung cancer, the Los Angeles Time reported. She was 86.
The Annenberg name is ubiquitous in the Los Angeles area, including the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica, the Wallis Annenberg GenSpace in Koreatown, the Wallis Annenberg Building at the California Science Center in Exposition Park, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the upcoming Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Agoura Hills.
She was heir to her father Walter Annenberg’s publishing empire, which included TV Guide. After he died in 2002, Wallis Annenberg took over as president and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation, which he founded in 1989 after selling TV Guide and assets to Rupert Murdoch. The nonprofit has assets of about $1.2 billion, according to the Times,
She broaden the foundation’s philanthropic emphasis on media, arts and education to include animal welfare, environmental conservation and healthcare.
During her 16 years at the helm of the foundation, it gave away an estimated $1.5 billion to thousands of Los Angeles County based organizations and nonprofits, the Times reported.
“Wallis Annenberg blessed the Los Angeles community not only with her philanthropy, but also with her guidance about how to improve our community” LACMA Chief Executive Michael Govan, told the Times. “From public access to our beautiful beaches to the livelihood of local animals, and the importance of the arts to our daily lives.”
She was born Wallis Huberta Annenberg in Philadelphia and grew up in Washington, D.C.
She is survived by four children and five grandchildren.