HIV in Hollywood

Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen

Troubled TV star Charlie Sheen revealed that he is HIV positive Novmber 17, 2015, during a live interview with Matt Lauer on NBC's Today show. Sheen shared that he has known for the last four years that he is HIV positive, and that at first thought he had a brain tumor. Known for his hard-partying and sexual promiscuity (he has been very open about both his drug use and prostitute proclivities), Sheen shared that he "was doing a lot of drugs…drinking way too much...making a lot of bad decisions." Sheen was joined by his doctor during one portion of the interview, who explained that Sheen is on the "triple cocktail" of HIV medications, and that this treatment had suppressed the virus from being detectable in his blood.

Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson

NBA superstar Magic Johnson shared with the world that he was HIV positive in 1991, and has since become a powerhouse advocate of safe sex, helping countless others living with HIV. His bravery in coming forward about his HIV status helped end the widespread stereotype that HIV was a "gay disease." Earvin 'Magic" Johnson won 5 NBA championships for the LA Lakers in the 1980s, and also won 3 MVP awards. He retired in 1991 after disclosing that he had HIV, but came out of retirement twice before finally retiring for good at the end of the 1996 season. After his basketball career, Magic Johnson became a full-time advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex through his Magic Johnson Foundation.

Eazy-E

Eazy-E

Eazy-E—one of the founders of seminal rap group N.W.A.—whose fascinating rise to fame was chronicled in the recently released bio-pic Straight Outta Compton, was diagnosed with AIDS when he went to the hospital to treat what he thought was the flu, in February 1995. Eazy E—born Eric Lynn Wright—helped propel fellow N.W.A. members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre to fame. All three were pioneers of the “gangsta rap” genre. Eazy-E released a statement within weeks of his surprising diagnosis, which implied that he had contracted AIDS from unprotected sex. He died just one month later.

Gia Carangi

Gia Carangi

Gia Carangi, considered to be on one of the first supermodels, rose to fame in the high fashion world in the late 1970s and early 1980s, appearing on the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour, and starred in ad campaigns for Armani Versace, Christian Dior and other designer brands. An early victim of AIDS, Carangi was addicted to heroin, and may have contracted AIDS from shared needle use. A beauty that died far too young—Gia Carangi was only 26 when she passed due to AIDS-related complications, in 1986.

Greg Louganis

Greg Louganis

Greg Louganis is considered to be one of the greatest Olympic divers ever. The gold-medal winner was diagnosed with HIV in 1988. One of the most memorable moments of the 1988 Summer Olympics was when Louganis hit his head on the springboard. Despite the concussion that resulted, he went on to win two gold medals and ABC TV's Athlete of the Year–all this 6 months after his diagnosis with HIV. Today, Louganis is a coach and mentor with USA Diving.

Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury's four-octave vocal range and stellar songwriting skills powered some of iconic rock-band Queen's greatest hits in the 1970s. His music continues to rock four decades after it was recorded, and he is on most lists of top-100 musicians of all time for his incredible musical talent. Diagnosed in 1987 with AIDS, Mercury kept the diagnosis a secret, despite constant speculation by the press. He finally came public in November 1991. But just two days later, Freddie Mercury died of AIDS-related pneumonia.

Robert Reed

Robert Reed

Robert Reed, the actor best known for playing the iconic father—Mike Brady—on the hit show The Brady Brunch was HIV positive. While Reed never officially announced his status, his doctors believe that HIV factored into his death from colon cancer in 1992.

Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson was a 1950s movie star—a golden matinee idol particularly famous for his leading role in the Oscar-winning film Giant (which also starred Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean). He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984, but waited till 1985 to publicly announce his status. He was one of the first brave superstars to come forth with his AIDS diagnosis—at a time when there was much fear around the disease. Rock Hudson died in his sleep, in 1985, from AIDS-related complications.

Keith Haring

Keith Haring

Keith Haring was a visual artist who gained fame as part of the 1980s New York City graffiti and street art scene. His line drawing style was kinetic, simple, alive—and quickly became famous and recognized worldwide. His works first appeared on unused advertisement panels in NYC subway stations. Haring’s artwork went from the street to the gallery—and he quickly a coveted artist. Openly gay, Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, which led him to establish the Keith Haring Foundation, whose aim is to provide funding and imagery to children's AIDS organizations. Haring died of complications from AIDS in 1990.

Liberace

Liberace

Master-pianist and flamboyant showman Liberace was the highest paid piano soloist in the United States in the 1950s to 1970s. Known for his fantastically flashy outfits and his outré personality—Liberace publicly denied being gay throughout his life, and kept up the rouse of dating women, hand-selected by his PR manager, like the actress Betty White. In the late 1980s, to combat rumors about the star's declining health, his camp put out stories that Liberace was on a "watermelon diet" and suffered from emphysema and anemia. As he became more ill, he never admitted to the public that he had been diagnosed with AIDS. It took an autopsy after his death to confirm what so many suspected—that he had died of AIDS-related causes.

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe won three Grand Slam tennis titles and was the first African-American selected for Davis Cup play in 1963. He became the top tennis player in the world while also creating the Association of Tennis Professionals and raising awareness against South African apartheid.

Tina Chow

Tina Chow

Tina Chow was an American model, jewelry designer, but is perhaps most well-known for being an leading fashion icon of the 1970s and 1980s. She was photgraphed by such luminaries such as Helmut Newton and Arthur Elgort, and was painted by Andy Warhol. Chow was famous for her unique style, and was often cited by top fashion magazines for her high/low design pairings, and her cropped hairstyle. In June 1989, Chow was diagnosed with AIDS, which she had contracted after having an affair with bisexual French aristrocrat Kim D'Estainville, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1990. Tina Chow went public with her diagnosis, in an effort to educate others, and worked as an AIDS activist. On January 24, 1992, she died AIDS-related complications. She was only 41.

Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey was a world-renowned choreographer and a major force in the world of modern dance, starting in the 1950s. He was one of the first African-American men to catapult into the dance limelight, and in 1958 founded the groundbreaking dance company—The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater of Harlem—still famous today. Ailey died of AIDS-related complications in 1989; he was just 58. Like others at that time, Ailey had his physician hide his true cause of death to save his family from the stigma attached to the disease. His dance legacy lives on today through his world-renowned dance company.

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov is one of the most well-known Science Fiction writers ever, and was famous and well-loved for his popular Sci-Fi novels. During heart bypass surgery, Asimov contracted HIV from a blood transfusion. He died, in 1992, from AIDS-related complications, though it was not officially revealed until 2002 that AIDS was the true cause of death.

Fela Kuti

Fela Kuti

Fela Kuti—world-famous as the inventor of "Afrobeat" music—was born to activist parents in Nigeria in 1938. He rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s and carried on the family legacy of activism in his music—decrying oppression and dictatatorial regimes to the beat of hypnotic, percussively driven Afrobeat music. He was incredibly prolific—producing 50 albums, among them his 1977 hit Zombie, which was deeply critical of the Nigerian military. Though he was arrested more than 200 times, Kuti stayed true to his activist roots and continued to write political lyrics till the end of his life. Married to 27 women, Fela Kuti claimed not to believe in AIDS (or condoms). He died in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1997. More than one million people attended his funeral.

John Holmes

John Holmes

Famous for his many starring roles in adult films, John Holmes, famed for his sizable assets, tested HIV positive in 1986. Though he publicly claimed that he was suffering from colon cancer, Holmes died of AIDS-related complications in 1988—likely as a result of unprotected sex.

Elizabeth Glaser

Elizabeth Glaser

Elizabeth Glaser, wife of director and TV actor Paul Michael Glaser, gave birth to their daughter Ariel, in 1981. Elizabeth needed a blood transfusion due to complications from the birth, which turned out to be infected with HIV. She unknowingly passed HIV to Ariel through breastfeeding. Her second child, Jake, was born with HIV. Despite aggressive, state-of-the-art treatment, Ariel died at the age of 7. Glaser went on to found the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation—one of the biggest fundraising and awareness groups for juvenile AIDS. Elizabeth Glaser died due to AIDS-related causes in 1994. Jake Glaser, now an adult, is a public advocate for HIV patients.

Rudy Galindo

Rudy Galindo

Rudy Galindo is medal-winning Olympic figure skater, particularly remembered for competing with Kristi Yamaguchi for the World Junior Champion in 1988, and the U.S. National Champion in 1989 and 1990. He won a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics in the singles competition. He revealed, in 2000, that he was HIV positive. He continues to coach ice skating today, and works to raise awareness for HIV.

Andy Bell

Andy Bell

HIV positive since 1998, Erasure front-man, Andy Bell, continues to produce cutting-edge electronic and electro-pop music. Openly gay, Bell works for HIV awareness, especially for gay youth.

Gil Scott Heron

Gil Scott Heron

Jazz and spoken-word artist, Gil Scott-Heron, shared that he was HIV positive in 2008. Famous for his spoken word performances, his cameos on award-winning records, and more, he died in 2011 from AIDS-related causes.

Tom Fogarty

Tom Fogarty

Tom Fogarty is rock legend. As the guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival, he is remembered as one of the best rock guitarists ever. Sadly, he contracted HIV from a blood transfusion, and died from AIDS-related complications in 1990.

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