Ananda Lewis died at the age of 52 in June 2025: the story of her battle with breast cancer
12 june 2025 в 18:13
Ananda Lewis passed away at the age of 52 in June 2025, approximately five years after she announced her breast cancer diagnosis. During her final years, the late MTV VJ embarked on a journey to encourage women to maintain their health and undergo regular check-ups.
Below, Hollywood Life has gathered everything you need to know about Lewis’s life and health, including her battle with breast cancer.
Lewis was known for her work as an MTV VJ, hosting shows such as Hot Zone and Total Request Live in the late 1990s. By the early 2000s, she left MTV to explore an independent path, hosting her own show, The Ananda Lewis Show.
Lewis’s sister, Lakshmi, announced the news of her death in June 2025 in a Facebook post that read: «She is free and in His heavenly embrace. Lord, rest her soul». The exact cause of death was not disclosed, but Lewis passed away approximately five years after she announced her breast cancer diagnosis.
In 2020, Lewis announced her stage III breast cancer diagnosis in a video on Instagram. She had decided not to undergo regular mammograms due to a fear of radiation. Since then, Lewis had been urging women to undergo regular mammograms and screenings.
Just five months before her death, Lewis wrote an essay published in Essence magazine. The title of the post indicated that by that time she was living with stage IV breast cancer.
«We are not meant to stay here forever», - she admitted in the essay. «We come into this life, have an experience, and leave. Being honest about that with yourself changes how you choose to live. I don’t want to spend any more minutes than necessary suffering unnecessarily. That’s not a quality of life that interests me. When my time comes to leave, I want to be able to look at my life and say, I did it exactly the way I wanted to. We all have that right. I know I did right by me. It may not be right for someone else, but it doesn’t have to be».
Lewis also addressed female readers, advising them to «do everything possible to ensure their story does not become yours».
«If I knew then what I know now, 10 years ago, maybe I wouldn’t be here», - the former MTV host pointed out. «I would have been doing cold plunges, working out regularly, monitoring my vitamin D levels, detoxing my body monthly and annually, and sleeping better. I would have been doing all the things I have to do now to prevent my body from creating more cancer and remove what it has already created. As Black women, we have higher levels of chronic stress. We, in many cases, have worse diets and sleep habits. Before this diagnosis, I was sleeping only three or four hours a night. This, along with toxic exposure, inadequate water intake, and poor nutrition, created the perfect storm for cancer».
It is unclear whether Lewis was officially married, but she was involved with her long-term partner, Harry Smith, the brother of actor Will Smith. Smith is the CEO of Smith Global Media.
Yes, Lewis shared her son, Langston, with Smith. They welcomed their child in 2011 and kept most of their family details away from the public eye
Below, Hollywood Life has gathered everything you need to know about Lewis’s life and health, including her battle with breast cancer.
Lewis was known for her work as an MTV VJ, hosting shows such as Hot Zone and Total Request Live in the late 1990s. By the early 2000s, she left MTV to explore an independent path, hosting her own show, The Ananda Lewis Show.
Lewis’s sister, Lakshmi, announced the news of her death in June 2025 in a Facebook post that read: «She is free and in His heavenly embrace. Lord, rest her soul». The exact cause of death was not disclosed, but Lewis passed away approximately five years after she announced her breast cancer diagnosis.
In 2020, Lewis announced her stage III breast cancer diagnosis in a video on Instagram. She had decided not to undergo regular mammograms due to a fear of radiation. Since then, Lewis had been urging women to undergo regular mammograms and screenings.
Just five months before her death, Lewis wrote an essay published in Essence magazine. The title of the post indicated that by that time she was living with stage IV breast cancer.
«We are not meant to stay here forever», - she admitted in the essay. «We come into this life, have an experience, and leave. Being honest about that with yourself changes how you choose to live. I don’t want to spend any more minutes than necessary suffering unnecessarily. That’s not a quality of life that interests me. When my time comes to leave, I want to be able to look at my life and say, I did it exactly the way I wanted to. We all have that right. I know I did right by me. It may not be right for someone else, but it doesn’t have to be».
Lewis also addressed female readers, advising them to «do everything possible to ensure their story does not become yours».
«If I knew then what I know now, 10 years ago, maybe I wouldn’t be here», - the former MTV host pointed out. «I would have been doing cold plunges, working out regularly, monitoring my vitamin D levels, detoxing my body monthly and annually, and sleeping better. I would have been doing all the things I have to do now to prevent my body from creating more cancer and remove what it has already created. As Black women, we have higher levels of chronic stress. We, in many cases, have worse diets and sleep habits. Before this diagnosis, I was sleeping only three or four hours a night. This, along with toxic exposure, inadequate water intake, and poor nutrition, created the perfect storm for cancer».
It is unclear whether Lewis was officially married, but she was involved with her long-term partner, Harry Smith, the brother of actor Will Smith. Smith is the CEO of Smith Global Media.
Yes, Lewis shared her son, Langston, with Smith. They welcomed their child in 2011 and kept most of their family details away from the public eye
© Zhinobaeva Margarita
