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Hydeia Broadbent, who was born with HIV and became a prominent campaigner fighting against the stigma and ignorance surrounding the virus and AIDS, died on Tuesday, her family said. She was 39.
“With great sadness, I must inform you all that our beloved friend, mentor and daughter Hydeia, passed away today after living with [AIDS] since birth,” her adoptive father, Loren Broadbent, announced in a Facebook post. No cause of death was given, but he later said she had “unexpectedly passed away” in a GoFundMe set up to support her funeral costs.
According to her website, Hydeia was adopted by Loren and Patricia Broadbent as an infant after she was abandoned at a Las Vegas medical center. Although she was born with HIV, she was not diagnosed until she was 3. The biography says she started speaking out as an activist raising awareness about HIV/AIDS just three years later.