Hydeia Broadbent, who was born with H.I.V. and as a child became a leading voice in raising awareness about the virus and AIDS, died on Tuesday at her home in Las Vegas. She was 39.
Her father, Loren Broadbent, confirmed the death. He did not cite the cause.
Ms. Broadbent was 6 years old when she began telling of her struggle with H.I.V. on television, aiming to educate the public amid an epidemic that produced panic and stigma. Even when new treatments dramatically improved the long-term outcomes for people with H.I.V., she stressed that there was no cure and that infection was a life sentence, and she urged people to prevent its spread.
In 1992, when she was 7, Ms. Broadbent was interviewed on Nickelodeon in a special program featuring Magic Johnson, the basketball star, who, after his own H.I.V. diagnosis, became a familiar face in the fight against H.I.V. and AIDS.
“I want people to know that we’re just normal people,” Ms. Broadbent, her face crumpling as she fought through tears, told Mr. Johnson. He gently reassured her, “We are normal people.”
Mr. Johnson posted a clip of the conversation on social media on Wednesday and wrote, “Hydeia changed the world with her bravery, speaking about how living with H.I.V. affected her life since birth.” He added, “Thanks to Hydeia, millions were educated, stigmas were broken, and attitudes about H.I.V./AIDs were changed.”
Interviewed by The New York Times in 2006, Ms. Broadbent said of the televised interview with Mr. Johnson, “I think it just opened a lot of people’s eyes that H.I.V. can happen to anybody, with me being so young.”
