MTV host Amanda Lewis dead age 53 after breast cancer battle
Amanda Lewis has passed away at the age of 52. The television host, best known for her MTV stint in the late 1990s, lost her life following her battle with breast cancer.
She was a popular host during the network's"veejay" era and sadly passed away yesterday, Wednesday June 11, 2025. In October 2020, Ananda announced to fans that she'd been privately battling Stage 3 breast cancer for two years.
She also told how she'd avoided getting regular mammograms due to her fear of radiation exposure. During a 2024 interview she revealed that her breast cancer had reached Stage 4 after previously declining to undergo a mastectomy for treatment.
Ananda's sister Lakshmi has now confirmed the sad news of her sister's passing on Facebook in an emotional message, The Mirror reports. She wrote of Ananda, "She's free and in His heavenly arms [heart emojis]. Lord, rest her soul [prayer hands emoji]."
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Lakshmi confirmed that her sister died at her home in Los Angeles at 11:35am and that she was in hospice care at the time of her death. Lakshimi also revealed that Ananda's 14-year-old son was graduating middle school the same day as her passing.
TMZ reported that made the day very bittersweet. She shares the teen boy, her only child, with husband Harry Smith, 54, who is the younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Will Smith, 56.
Many are mourning Ananda's untimely death on social media, especially on X, formerly Twitter. One wrote on the platform X: "Omg Rip to the beautiful #AnandaLewis her sister confirmed the news.
"If you're a 90s/early 2000s baby, then you definitely wanted to be her, at some point! The real 'It girl'! She just had it!Phuck cancer! Sending love to every person that loved her. Get your rest beauty."
Another wrote on X: " Ananda Lewis was so iconic. Sleep peacefully angel," a third penned: "Ananda Lewis was one of the quintessential 90's baddies RIP."
As a fixture on MTV in the late 1990s, Ananda hosted hit shows like Total Request Live, Hot Zone and Spring Break. But she left her MTV role in 2001 and began hosting her very own daytime TV talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show, which ran for two seasons.
She earned two NAACP Image Awards during her career and was once deemed the 'the hip-hop generation's reigning It Girl' by The New York Times.
Lakshmi said that a memorial would be held 'in a few weeks' and that celebrities who Ananda previously interview have already expressed interest in paying tribute to her at the upcoming service.
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