TV Host Ananda Lewis Dies at 52: ‘In His Heavenly Arms’

Published: June 13, 2025

By Gavin Boyle

Former MTV and talk show host Ananda Lewis has died after a four year battle with breast cancer. She was 52.

“She’s free, and in His heavenly arms,” Lewis’ sister Lakshimi said on Facebook. “Lord, rest her soul.”

Lewis first shared her cancer diagnosis in 2020 when she revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Since then, she had been a vocal advocate for cancer screening, as earlier detection could have saved her life.

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“I need you to share this with the women in your life who may be as stubborn as I was about mammograms and I need you to tell them they have to do it,” Lewis said. “Early detection, especially for breast cancer, changes your outcome. It can save their life.”

Going against medical advice, Lewis decided not to have a double mastectomy following her diagnosis and sought to attack the cancer in a more natural way.

“My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body. I felt like my body is intelligent, I know that to be true. Our bodies are brilliantly made,” Lewis said during a round table discussion in October. “I decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way. Looking back on that, I go, ‘You know what? Maybe I should have [had the surgery].”

Lewis then revealed that the tumor had metastasized and spread throughout her body – elevating her cancer to stage IV. After she knew she was dying, she emphasized enjoying her last months and making the most of her remaining time.

“We’re not meant to stay here forever. We come to this life, have experiences – and then we go. Getting real about that with yourself changes how you choose to live. I don’t want to spend one more minute than I have to suffering unnecessarily. That, for me, is not the quality of life I’m interested in,” Lewis wrote in an essay published in Essence in January. “When it’s time for me to go, I want to be able to look back on my life and say, ‘I did that exactly how I wanted to.’”

Lewis is survived by her husband Harry Smith and her son Langston, who is 14. Please keep them and the rest of her family in your prayers as they continue to process and mourn her death.

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