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TV presenter and former MTV video jockey Ananda Lewis has died at the age of 52, following a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
Lewis, who rose to prominence in the late 1990s hosting popular shows such as Total Request Live, Hot Zone, and MTV Live, died six years after being diagnosed with the disease. Her family confirmed the news eight months after she revealed that her illness had progressed to stage four.
Her cousin, Felece Antoinette, paid tribute in a heartfelt Facebook post: “My beautiful, gifted, multitalented, funny, intelligent, witty and brave cousin TV personality Ananda Lewis gained her wings today. No more pain.”
She added: “RIH Bravebird, I’ll see you on the other side,” while asking for prayers for Lewis’s sister, Lakshmi LS Emory, and the wider family.
Lakshmi later shared a short, emotional message of her own, writing: “She’s free, and in His heavenly arms. Lord, rest her soul.”
Legacy in Television and Activism
Born in Los Angeles and a graduate of Howard University, Lewis became a major media presence in the 1990s. The New York Times once described her as “the hip-hop generation’s reigning It Girl.”
She began her career as a youth activist, a path that led her to BET’s Teen Summit, where she hosted discussions around social issues affecting young Black Americans. Her profile skyrocketed after joining MTV, and she later fronted The Ananda Lewis Show in 2001.
Following her run at MTV, Lewis joined CBS’s The Insider as a correspondent and made numerous appearances across American television.
Candid About Her Diagnosis
In 2020, Lewis publicly disclosed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer two years earlier, admitting that she had initially refused mammograms out of concern for radiation exposure—something she later called a “mistake.”
“I watched my mom get mammograms for 30 years… and at the end of that, she had breast cancer,” she explained in a video statement. “Radiation exposure for years… breast cancer. Yeah, I’m going to pass. Thanks anyway.”
She used her platform to warn others not to make the same decision.
“I need you to share this with the women in your life who may be as stubborn as I was… Early detection changes your outcome. It can save their life.”
Lewis first discovered a lump in December 2018 while in the shower. She later described trying to eliminate the tumour naturally before realising she had underestimated the disease.
In an interview with CNN’s Stephanie Elam last October, she said: “My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body… I wish I could go back. It’s important for me to admit where I went wrong with this.”
Remembered with Love
Lewis is survived by her son, Langston, whom she welcomed in 2011 with partner Harry Smith—the brother of actor Will Smith.
In a personal reflection published earlier this year in Essence, Lewis wrote: “We’re not meant to stay here forever. We come to this life, have experiences—and then we go. Being real about that with yourself changes how you choose to live.”
Her legacy as a pioneering Black female voice on television and advocate for youth and women’s health continues to resonate.
Published by M10News.com | By F. Dayo Olusola | Category: Obituary / Entertainment
