Hydeia Broadbent, H.I.V. and AIDS Activist, Dies at 39

Hydeia Broadbent, who was born with H.I.V. and as a baby grew to become a number one voice in elevating consciousness concerning the virus and AIDS, died on Tuesday at her house in Las Vegas. She was 39.

Her father, Loren Broadbent, confirmed the demise. No trigger was given.

Ms. Broadbent was 6 years outdated when she started sharing her battle with H.I.V. on tv packages, aiming to teach the general public amid an epidemic that produced panic and stigma round AIDS, based on her website.

In 1992, when she was 7, Ms. Broadbent was interviewed opposite Magic Johnson, the basketball star who after his personal H.I.V. prognosis grew to become a well-recognized face within the combat towards H.I.V. and AIDS.

“I want people to know that we’re just normal people,” Ms. Broadbent, her face crumpling as she fought by way of tears, advised Mr. Johnson. “We are normal people,” he gently reassured her. Mr. Johnson posted a clip of the conversation on-line in a tribute Wednesday.

“I think it just opened a lot of people’s eyes that H.I.V. can happen to anybody, with me being so young,” Ms. Broadbent told The New York Times in 2006 concerning the interview with Mr. Johnson.

By the point Ms. Broadbent was 12, she had shared her story with quite a few nationwide tv audiences, according to the biography page on her website. At 11, she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and talked concerning the myriad well being points she had overcome as a toddler.

Hydeia Loren Broadbent was born on June 14, 1984, at a hospital in Las Vegas. She was deserted at beginning and adopted by Loren and Patricia Broadbent, based on the biography on her web site.

Though she had been born with H.I.V., it was not identified till she was 3 years outdated.

The sickness affected Ms. Broadbent’s studying, conserving her from attending college till the seventh grade. At Odyssey Excessive Faculty in Las Vegas, she was a part of a program that allowed her to do business from home on a pc.

“My daughter didn’t have a proper schooling due to her sickness,’‘ her mother, Patricia, told the Times in 2001 for an article about teenagers living with AIDS. “My priority was not school, but keeping her healthy for the time she had.”

Ms. Broadbent continued to speak publicly about H.I.V. and AIDS into adulthood. Her work earned her recognition, particularly among African Americans. She was twice named among the “Most Influential 150 African Americans,” in 2008 and 2011, by Ebony magazine, according to her biography.

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

“I have dedicated my whole life to this fight,” she told CNN in 2012. “I don’t hate my life. I really feel like I’m actually blessed. However on the identical time, my life doesn’t must be their life. I didn’t have a selection when it got here to H.I.V./AIDS, and other people do have a selection.”

A full obituary will comply with.