Hydeia Broadbent, HIV and AIDS activist, dies aged 39

Hydeia Broadbent, who was born with HIV and became a leading voice in raising awareness about the virus and AIDS as a child, died Tuesday at her home in Las Vegas. She was 39.

Her father, Loren Broadbent, confirmed the death. No reason was given.

Ms. Broadbent was six years old when she began sharing her fight against HIV on television programs, aiming to educate the public amid an epidemic that has caused panic and stigma around AIDS, according to her website.

In 1992, when she was seven, Ms. Broadbent was interviewed opposite Magic Johnson, the basketball star who became a household face in the fight against HIV and AIDS after his own HIV diagnosis.

“I want people to know that we're just normal people,” Ms. Broadbent, her face wincing as she fought through tears, told Mr. Johnson. “We're normal people,” he reassured her softly. Mr. Johnson posted a snippet of the conversation online in a tribute Wednesday.

“I think it just opened a lot of people's eyes that HIV can happen to anyone, because I'm so young,” Ms. Broadbent told the New York Times in 2006 about the interview with Mr. Johnson.

By the time Ms. Broadbent was 12, she had shared her story with countless national television viewers. according to the biography page on her website. At age 11, she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Showand talked about the countless health challenges she overcame as a toddler.

Hydeia Loren Broadbent was born on June 14, 1984 in a hospital in Las Vegas. According to the biography on her website, she was abandoned at birth and adopted by Loren and Patricia Broadbent.

Although she was born with HIV, she was not diagnosed until she was three years old.

The disease affected Ms Broadbent's learning, meaning she was unable to attend school until seventh grade. At Odyssey High School in Las Vegas, she was part of a program that allowed her to work on a computer at home.

“My daughter has no formal education because of her illness,” her mother, Patricia, told the Times in 2001 for an article about teenagers living with AIDS. “My priority wasn't school, it was keeping her healthy for the time she had.”

Mrs. Broadbent continued to speak publicly about HIV and AIDS into her adulthood. Her work earned her recognition, especially among African Americans. According to her biography, she was twice named one of the “150 Most Influential African Americans” by Ebony magazine in 2008 and 2011.

As an adult, Ms. Broadbent focused on combating the stigma and misinformation surrounding AIDS and educating the public about prevention.

“I have dedicated my whole life to this fight,” she says told CNN in 2012. “I don't hate my life. I feel like I am truly blessed. But at the same time, my life doesn't have to be their life. I had no choice when it came to HIV/AIDS, and people do have a choice.”

An extensive obituary will follow.