Hydeia Broadbent. Photo: Courtesy/@Am_Blujay
Hydeia Broadbent, known for raising awareness to lessen the stigma around HIV/AIDS from a young age, has died at the age of 39.
Broadbent, who was born with HIV, breathed her last at her home in Las Vegas on Tuesday, her father Loren Broadbent confirmed in a Facebook post.
He said his beloved friend, mentor, and daughter Hydeia, passed away today after living with Aids since birth.
Hydeia remained determined to spread hope and positivity through education around HIV/AIDS, despite facing numerous challenges throughout her life.
However, Loren did not mention the cause of the death, reports The New York Times.
Among the African American community, she was one of the faces of AIDS for children.
Broadbent was diagnosed at the age of three as positive with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Her mother, an IV drug user, left her in the hospital with the disease, and doctors predicted she wouldn’t live past age 5.
When Broadbent was six years old, she began telling of her struggle with HIV on television. Amid a panic and stigmatizing epidemic, she aims to educate the public.
Despite new treatments improving long-term outcomes for HIV patients, she emphasized that there was no cure, and infection was a life sentence.
She also urged people to prevent its extent.
When she was seven in 1992, Broadbent was interviewed on Nickelodeon in a special program featuring basketball star Magic Johnson who, after his own HIV diagnosis, became a familiar face in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
On Wednesday, Johnson shared a clip of the conversation on social media.
He wrote that throughout her life as a person living with HIV, Hydeia Broadbent changed the world with her bravery.