Ananda Lewis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ananda Lewis
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Lewis at a holiday party in Hollywood, California, in December 2007
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| Born | March 21, 1973 San Diego, California, U.S.
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| Died | June 11, 2025 (aged 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Howard University Los Angeles Trade–Technical College |
| Occupation | Television host, carpenter, model, social activist |
| Years active | 1993–2025 |
| Children | 1 |
Ananda Lewis (March 21, 1973 – June 11, 2025) was an American television host, model, carpenter, and social activist. She became famous in the late 1990s as a VJ, or video jockey, for the music channel MTV. She hosted popular shows like “Total Request Live” and “Hot Zone.”
In 2001, Lewis left MTV to host her own talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show. She later worked as a reporter for the TV show The Insider. After her television career, she became a professional carpenter and hosted the 2019 revival of While You Were Out on the TLC network.
In October 2020, Lewis shared on her Instagram account that she had been fighting stage 3 breast cancer for two years.
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Early Life and Schooling
Lewis was born on March 21, 1973, in San Diego, California. Her first name, Ananda, means "bliss" in the Sanskrit language. Her background was African American and Native American, with family roots in the Creek and Blackfeet tribes.
Her parents divorced when she was two years old. Ananda and her sister, Lakshmi, moved with their mother to San Diego. As a child, Lewis had a speech impediment but overcame it by age eight. When she was in grade school, she won the Little Miss San Diego beauty contest. For the talent part of the contest, she performed a dance she created herself.
After winning, a talent agent noticed her, and she began acting in local plays and on TV. She attended the San Diego School of Creative and Performance Arts (SCPA) for nine years. At age 13, she started volunteering to help young children. This experience made her want to become a teacher or a psychologist.
Her family encouraged her to study law. She went to Howard University in Washington, D.C. and graduated with honors in 1995 with a degree in history.
Career in Television
Becoming a TV Host
While studying at Howard University, Lewis volunteered as a mentor for young people. She was thinking about getting a master's degree in education when she heard about auditions to host the show Teen Summit on the TV channel BET. The kids she was mentoring encouraged her to try out.
Lewis got the job and hosted Teen Summit for three seasons. The show discussed serious topics important to teenagers. In 1996, she interviewed the First Lady at the time, Hillary Clinton. For her work on the show, Lewis won an Image Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Fame at MTV
After her success on Teen Summit, the popular music channel MTV offered Lewis a job as a VJ (video jockey). Moving to MTV meant she could reach a much larger audience of young people.
At MTV, Lewis hosted several shows, including:
- Total Request Live (often called TRL), a daily countdown of the most popular music videos.
- Hot Zone, where she played music videos and interviewed famous musicians.
- MTV Live
Lewis was known for being smart and asking thoughtful questions. She hosted special MTV programs about important issues. In 2001, she won a second NAACP Image Award for hosting an MTV special called True Life: I Am Driving While Black. During this time, she became a very well-known personality.
Later Career Projects
In 2000, People magazine named Lewis one of its "50 Most Beautiful People." In 2001, she left MTV to create her own daytime talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show. The show was meant for young women and covered topics like health.
Sadly, the show started on September 10, 2001. The very next day, the September 11th attacks occurred, which greatly changed television programming. The show was canceled after only one season.
After her talk show, Lewis worked on other projects:
- In 2004, she was a reporter for the entertainment news show The Insider.
- She appeared on the reality TV show Celebrity Mole: Yucatán.
- She became a professional carpenter and used her skills to host the home-makeover show While You Were Out in 2019.
Personal Life
Lewis was a big animal lover and worked with the Humane Society. She often brought her two pet chihuahuas with her to interviews. She was also a spokesperson for Reading Is Fundamental, a group that helps children learn to read.
Lewis was good friends with the singer and actress Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001. In 2011, Lewis had her son, Langston.
Health and Death
In October 2020, Lewis announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer two years earlier. She explained that she did not get a mammogram (a type of medical scan) for many years, which led to her cancer being found at a late stage. She encouraged her followers to get checked by doctors regularly.
In October 2024, she shared that her cancer had progressed to stage IV. Lewis spoke publicly about her health journey and her choice to use different methods to care for her body. She died in Los Angeles on June 11, 2025, at the age of 52.
