Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis Dead After Breast Cancer Battle

Ananda Lewis, a popular host from the MTV "veejay" era in the late '90s ... died on Wednesday after a lengthy breast cancer battle.

The news was broken by her sister Lakshmi on Facebook, who celebrated the end of Ananda's suffering in an emotional post.

Lakshmi tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Ananda died from stage 4 breast cancer at 11:35 AM on Wednesday while in hospice at her Los Angeles home.

Lakshmi tell us she braved the diagnosis for 6 years and even tried out some conventional/some unconventional treatments ... choosing her own path.

We're told her family has heard from a lot of celebs already who want to speak on how Ananda influenced their careers and handled her interviews so well with them at her memorial, which will be in a few weeks.

Lakshmi tells us Ananda's 14-year-old son graduated middle school today ... a terribly bittersweet day.

In October 2024, Ananda revealed in an interview that her breast cancer had escalated to Stage 4, after she previously declined to get a mastectomy for treatment.

Ananda hosted red-hot MTV programs such as "TRL" and "Spring Break" before going on to host her self-titled syndicated talk show on daytime television.

She continued to be a news correspondent for various broadcast networks and became a spokesperson for the Humane Society.

Ananda was 52.