HIV/AIDS Activist Hydeia Broadbent, 39, Dies: ‘Use My Testimony As A Warning’

Doctors said she wouldn't live past five years old, but she defied the odds for over three decades and shared her HIV journey with the world.

Hydeia Broadbent, a trailblazing AIDS activist who defied the odds after being born HIV-positive, has died at 39.

Abandoned by her biological parents at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas and adopted at six weeks old by Patricia and Loren Broadbent, doctors grimly predicted she would not survive past five years old. According to BlackDoctor.org, she refused to be defined by her diagnosis and went on to educate millions with her incredible story.

In 1996, the young advocate’s poised appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show made her an overnight household name as she bravely opened up about being “born in 1984 with HIV, and…addicted to crack and heroin.” Her adoptive parents only learned of the HIV diagnosis three years post-adoption, according to the outlet.

From that point on, Broadbent’s life work was fueled by advocacy through raising awareness. She globe-trotted to personally connect with people across cultures, armed with lessons on preventing high-risk behaviors that spread HIV/AIDS. As “one of the first African American youth to openly discuss HIV/AIDS,” media outlets consistently celebrated her influential voice. A feature on Oprah’s “Where Are They Now” sparked an overwhelming response from viewers. Her candor stemmed from a belief that being unafraid to share one’s truth could inspire change.

“People think since I was born HIV-positive, my story doesn’t apply to them,” she said. “I ask people to use my testimony as a warning of what you don’t want to go through.”

Broadbent’s powerful story moved the masses. Author and AIDS activist Rae Lewis-Thornton posted a heartfelt message on X, formerly known as Twitter, in remembrance of Broadbent, who became her good friend. “Rest my sister. Rest. Your legacy will live forever.”

https://twitter.com/raelt/status/1760178101235966347?s=46&t=EnI8LpkKUkdwbsuH0OtHUQ

Her story even touched celebrities like Magic Johnson. As a seven-year-old, she tearfully met the NBA legend, who had also been diagnosed as HIV-positive. “I want people to know…that we’re just normal people,” she stated then. The emotional scene was captured in a 1990s Nickelodeon special informing youth about AIDS. Years later, the footage resurfaced during a screening of the ESPN documentary, “The Announcement,” that Broadbent attended alongside Johnson.

In 2010, BLACK ENTERPRISE noted the young advocate’s message to youth that “having HIV affects your mind, body, and soul. It’s not a death sentence, but it does make things a whole lot more complicated.

Over her lifetime, Broadbent, who was dubbed “one of the most popular little AIDS activists in the country,” was honored by countless organizations, spotlighted in several magazines, and tapped to speak across the world.