Key Takeaways
- Matchmaker Amber Kelleher-Andrews, who made love and marriage connections for the uber-elite with Kelleher International, passed away from ovarian cancer on April 13.
- She’s remembered for her high-profile matchmaking career as well as her philanthropic efforts with Sir Richard Branson’s organization Success to Significance.
The matchmaking world has lost one of its brightest stars. Amber Kelleher-Andrews, 56, passed away on April 13 from ovarian cancer, her family announced on Kelleher International.
Known as a “Matchmaker to the Elite,” Kelleher-Andrews facilitated connections for celebrities, Fortune 500 executives, and professional athletes. She lent her matchmaking skills to those who tuned into CNN, “Good Morning America,” and “Today.”
Kelleher-Andrews and Kelleher International have also been featured in publications like Forbes, Vanity Fair, and Esquire.
Kelleher-Andrews Brought “Empathy and Energy” to the Matchmaking Community
Kelleher-Andrews worked alongside her mother, Jill, who founded Kelleher International in 1986. In 2000, Kelleher-Andrews and her business partner, John Berg, became Kelleher International’s co-CEOS. She and Berg are credited with turning the San Francisco-based company into a global enterprise.
Kelleher International celebrated its best year on record in 2024.
“Her empathy, energy, and ability to create transformative matches became the heartbeat of our firm — a legacy that lives on in every member of the Kelleher team,” Kelleher International said in a memorial post.
The post remembered Kelleher-Andrews’ achievements as an actor-turned-matchmaker: “A former actress whose face became familiar through in-flight magazine spreads and television interviews, Ms. Kelleher brought a performer’s charisma to the world of luxury matchmaking.”
Kelleher-Andrews combined her business acumen, matchmaking prowess, and emotional intelligence with her popular radio show, “The Rules of Engagement,” and as a matchmaker on the 2013 reality competition show “Ready for Love,” which was produced by Eva Longoria.
Kelleher International’s memorial highlights Kelleher-Andrews’ efforts beyond matchmaking, including as a philanthropist and main organizer for Sir Richard Branson’s “Success to Significance” charitable retreat.
“Amber was a treasure to this world,” Branson said in a statement. “Her joy, love, and sheer determination to make the world a better place was awe-inspiring … Her legacy will live on in the many people whose lives she touched through her generosity and through sparking purpose in so many others.”
Berg also reflected on Kelleher-Andrews’ contributions to Kelleher International. “She was not just an extraordinary business leader, but a visionary entrepreneur,” he said. “Her innovative thinking, unwavering determination and generosity of spirit are woven into the very fabric of our company.”
“We’ve been called the world’s most exclusive club,” Kelleher-Andrews once said of Kelleher International. “We don’t just match people. We change lives.” She added: “Connection is the most powerful force we have.”
Kelleher-Andrews is survived by her husband, Nico Andrews, their three children, her brother, and her mother.
