The Hollywood Reporter has stated that Ananda Lewis, former TV Show Host and MTV VJ, passed away after battling stage 4 breast cancer. She was 52 years old.
Lakshmi, her sister, told TMZ that Lewis died in her home in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning after six-year battle with cancer. She wrote on Facebook, “She’s free, and in His heavenly arms. Lord, rest her soul,” via THR.
THR expressed that Lewis was born in San Diego on March 21, 1973, and graduated from Howard University in 1995. She secured a job as the host of Teen Summit on BET network, launching her career in entertainment. Later on, she became one of MTV’s VJs in 1997, hosting shows such as Hot Zone and Total Request Live. In 2001, she left the network and hosted her own talk show called The Ananda Lewis Show.
Lewis was named “hip-hop generation’s reigning It Girl, meaning she is not just an MTV personality but a woman whose looks and attitude have made her perpetually in demand at clubs and parties,” in 1999 by The New York Times. Furthermore, she was fashion innovator throughout the 1990s, beside her famous friend and late singer Aaliyah, THR adds.
According to THR, from 2004 to 2005, Lewis was a correspondent for The Insider, while also hosting multiple shows including While You Were Out, High School Reunion, America’s Next Producer, and Unexpected.
Lewis revealed her diagnosis with stage 3 breast cancer in an Instagram video posted in 2020, THR reveals. She stated that she had radiation fears and therefore had not been getting regularly scheduled mammograms. The caption of the video said; “This is tough for me, but if just ONE woman decides to get her mammogram after watching this, what I’m going through will be worth it. PRACTICE EARLY DETECTION.”
During a discussion with CNN journalist Stephanie Elam and reporter Sara Sidner back in 2024, Lewis shared that she didn’t go through double mastectomy, going against medical advice. Thus, her tumor metastasized and her cancer consequently progressed to stage 4, THR notes.