Talk show host Ananda Lewis dies at 52 after battling stage IV breast cancer

Ananda Lewis dies in June 2025

Former MTV VJ and talk show host Ananda Lewis has recently died after her years-long battle with breast cancer. She was 52. Lewis’ sister Lakshmi took to her Facebook and revealed her death on Wednesday, June 11.

The talk show host’s sister shared a black and white photo of Lewis and wrote in the caption, “She’s free, and in His heavenly arms,” adding a series of broken heart emoticons. She concluded her post writing, “Lord, rest her soul.”

Fans, friends and family members started pouring tributes on social media soon after they got to know about her death.

In 2020, Lewis took to her Instagram and revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. The TV also confessed that she was getting regular mammograms because of her fear of radiation

However, Lewis later revealed in October 2024, during a round table discussion at CNN, that she went against medical advice and did not have a double mastectomy after she was diagnosed. She also revealed during the same discussion that her tumor had metastasized, and her cancer had progressed to stage IV.

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Ananda Lewis was very open about her cancer journey and had frequently shared health updates on her social media.

On the work front, she rose to fame in 1997 after she bagged a gig as MTV’s VJs and went on to host shows like Total Request Live and Hot Zone. In 1999, The New York Times dubbed her “the hip-hop generation's reigning It Girl.” She left MTV in 2001 to host her own talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show.