Diem Brown facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Diem Brown
Born	Danielle Michelle Brown (1980-06-12)June 12, 1980 Germany
Died	November 14, 2014(2014-11-14) (aged 34) New York, United States
Cause of death	Ovarian cancer
Alma mater	Florida State University
Occupation	Television personality
Years active	2005–2014

Danielle Michelle "Diem" Brown (June 12, 1980 – November 14, 2014) was an American television star and a kind person who helped others. She was best known for being a regular cast member on the MTV reality TV show The Challenge. Diem also started a special website called MedGift. This website helped people who were sick and their caregivers get support and gifts. Before her family settled in the United States, Diem moved often because her father was in the Army. She spent a lot of her childhood in Baumholder, Germany. She went to high school in Roswell, Georgia, and earned her college degree in communications from Florida State University.

Diem first appeared on Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat in 2006. She competed in seven more Challenges after that. In her very first challenge, filmed in 2005, she shared that she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This news surprised everyone on the show. Her last season of The Challenge, called Battle of the Exes II, was shown in early 2015.

Reality TV Adventures

Fresh Meat was the twelfth season of Real World/Road Rules Challenge. It was filmed in Australia. The show featured teams of two players. Each team had someone from The Real World or Road Rules paired with a new person, called "Fresh Meat." Diem was teamed up with Derrick Kosinski, and they finished in fourth place.

Diem had just finished her cancer treatment when she went on to compete in The Duel. During one of the challenges, she bravely took off her wig. This moment is remembered as one of the most touching parts of The Challenge.

Diem's Challenge Seasons

Here's a look at Diem's journey on The Challenge:

Diem as a Reporter

Diem Brown also worked as an entertainment reporter. She wrote for the Associated Press, Sky Living, and Foxnews.com. She also shared her experiences battling cancer and her thoughts on The Challenge on People.com. Diem hosted a special show for MTV.com called Surviving Cancer.

MedGift: Helping Others

The website MedGift was Diem's big idea. MedGift was a non-profit website that aimed to connect people who needed help with those who cared. Its goal was to help patients get support from their family and friends while they were getting treatment.

Diem was also a strong supporter for patients. She spoke and appeared on many TV shows, online programs, and conferences. She took part in the first Stand Up to Cancer telethon. She also helped with other charity events, like MTV's Restore the Shore telethon after Hurricane Sandy. In 2012, she was chosen as one of the first 100 amazing women to be featured on MAKERS.com. MedGift stopped its operations on December 1, 2022.

Her Personal Life

Diem Brown dated another Challenge cast member, Chris "CT" Tamburello. They met on The Duel in 2006 and were together for over a year and a half. Diem said that CT helped her a lot when she was recovering from cancer and gave her confidence.

The couple competed on the same team on The Gauntlet III. They were also featured on the MTV show MADE. On that show, Diem wanted to learn how to salsa dance to feel more confident. After they broke up, Diem and CT still competed together on The Duel II, Battle of the Exes, and The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II. They finished as runners-up in the final of the first Exes season.

Her Brave Fight and Passing

In June 2012, after six years of being cancer-free, Diem's ovarian cancer came back. She chose to delay treatment for a short time to save her eggs before having surgery and chemotherapy. In 2013, Diem's cancer went away again. She finished chemotherapy in February 2013.

Later, she competed in her seventh Challenge season, Rivals II. She did this because doctors had told her during her second cancer fight that it was "not likely" she would see 2013. Diem and her partner Aneesa Ferreira finished in fourth place.

Diem was diagnosed with cancer for a third time in June 2014. At first, she only told her close friends. Two months later, in August 2014, while filming her eighth and final Challenge competition, Battle of the Exes II in Panama, Diem collapsed on set. She was quickly flown to a New York hospital for emergency surgery. Diem shared that her ovarian cancer had spread to her colon and stomach. Diem passed away on November 14, 2014. She spent her last hours with her friends and family.

Diem's Legacy

US Congressman Sean Duffy and various MTV alumni at the launch of Congressional Ovarian Cancer Caucus.

In 2015, former The Challenge contestant and United States Representative Sean Duffy from Wisconsin started the Ovarian Cancer Caucus. He started it with Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who is an ovarian cancer survivor. Several other Challenge contestants came to honor Diem. Sean Duffy said that Diem's death "touched our MTV reality-TV family." Among those present were Sean Duffy and his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, along with other former MTV cast members.