Ananda Lewis, Former MTV VJ, Dies at 52

Ananda Lewis, the former MTV video jockey and host of The Ananda Lewis Show, has reportedly died at age 52.

Lewis' death was announced Wednesday (June 11) in a post on her sister's Facebook page. "She's free, and in His heavenly arms," wrote Lewis' sister, Lakshmi. "Lord, rest her soul."

Ananda Lewis got her start hosting BET's Teen Summit and rose to stardom in the late '90s as a VJ on MTV programs including Total Request Live and Hot Zone. She interviewed celebs from Brandy to Britney Spears and covered the 2001 death of Aaliyah, her close friend.

The New York Times called her the "hip-hop generation's reigning It Girl" in 1999, two years before she went on to host her own syndicated talk show for one season.

The former television star shared last October that her breast cancer had metastasized and was at stage IV, according to People. She had been diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in 2020.

In a 2024 CNN roundtable, Lewis said she opted against a double mastectomy despite her doctors' advice.

“My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body. I felt like my body is intelligent, I know that to be true. Our bodies are brilliantly made,” Lewis said at the time. “I decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way. ... I wish I could go back. It’s important for me to admit where I went wrong with this.”

In an essay for Essence published in January, Lewis wrote that "prevention is the real cure" and encouraged Black women to educate themselves about cancer risks.

"If I had known what I know now 10 years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up here," she added.

Lewis and her husband Harry Smith, brother to Will Smith, welcomed their son Langston in 2011.