List of 10 Celebrities who are HIV Positive

10 Celebrities who are HIV Positive

People have had to deal with the realities of coming out as living with HIV for as long as we have known about HIV/AIDS. It can be challenging to let loved ones and friends know that you have HIV. There are many celebrities who are HIV positive and have given a tough fight to the disease.

Many famous people have made the decision to let the world see that side of themselves. When someone chooses to come out, they often benefit the rest of us since many individuals who would not otherwise know someone who is openly living with HIV may relate to them. They can support efforts to reduce stigma and raise awareness. Here is a list of some of the most well-known celebrities who are HIV positive from the past and present.

1. Billy Porter

Billy Porter may have been well-known for his Emmy-winning role as Pray Tell in the ground-breaking television series Pose, but Porter has been a star throughout his whole career. That’s why his May 2021 The Hollywood Reporter admission that he’s had HIV since 2007 is so intriguing.

2. Jonathan Van Ness

The Netflix Queer Eye reboot’s breakthrough star is Jonathan Van Ness. Van Ness also discussed his personal history of sexual assault in the profile, as well as his drug addiction and accompanying traumas.

3. Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen is well-known for both his on-screen comedic skills and his off-screen antics. Sheen is also recognised as the newest member of the Sheen acting clan, which also includes Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen. He was seen as a sort of “bad boy” in Hollywood and spoke freely about doing drugs, having a lot of sex, and having intercourse with sex workers.

4. Magic Johnson

It would be difficult to discuss celebrities who are HIV positive without including Magic Johnson. It was a turning point in HIV awareness when Johnson, one of basketball’s finest players, revealed that he was HIV positive in 1991. At a time when there were no good HIV treatments and the most frequent image of someone with HIV was someone dying from it, he was a robust, physically fit athlete coming out.

He has thrived ever since his diagnosis, which has caused some people to think that he has been healed. However, he continues to inform the public and remind them throughout his appearances that he is not healed; rather, he is only taking effective meds.

5. Rock Hudson

The poster child for 1950s straight, manly, and macho Hollywood actors was Rock Hudson. His public relations staff claimed that he had liver cancer before he came out. In July 1985, Hudson came forward and became the first well-known person to admit that he had AIDS at the time. Many people found Hudson’s appearance to be a stark contrast to the buff matinee idol he had been only a decade earlier. Following his passing, Elizabeth Taylor, a co-star in the film Giant, rose to prominence as an AIDS activist and spearheaded efforts inside the industry to collect money for research.

6. Mykki Blanco

They said in their original post, “Fuck stigma and cowering in the dark.” They wrote in the post’s comments section, “No more living a lie. Blanco has criticised certain national AIDS groups for stereotyping celebrities who are HIV positive since coming out.

7. Gia Carangi

One of the earliest supermodels with international recognition was Gia Carangi. She was one of the most in-demand models in the fashion industry and graced the covers of Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Her professional life, however, was cut short when she passed away in 1986 from heroin addiction.

Carangi is credited for opening doors for some of the biggest names in fashion modelling, such as Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, who debuted in the early 1990s.

8. Keith Haring

Even if you might not be familiar with Keith Haring’s appearance or even know who he was, there is a good possibility that you have seen his artwork. His graffiti dance figures have appeared on a variety of items, including Adidas and Uniqlo clothing.

9. Eazy-E

Rap superstar Eazy-E revealed in 1995 that he had been diagnosed with AIDS, together with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, he co-founded the group N.W.A. One of the most important albums in the history of rap music is the N.W.A. LP Straight Outta Compton, which achieved double platinum status in 1988.

Only one month after being told he had AIDS, Eazy-E passed away at age 31. The 2015 movie Straight Outta Compton, which received an Academy Award nomination, depicted his diagnosis and demise. Eazy-E was portrayed by Jason Mitchell in the movie. The three N.W.A. members are shown in the movie getting ready to reunite just before he passes away.

10. Sylvester

Disco icon Sylvester James, better known by his stage name Sylvester, was a renowned singer and composer from San Francisco who became famous for his trademark song “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” as well as for his flamboyant appearance and falsetto singing voice. Sylvester passed away in 1988 from complications brought on by AIDS.

Sylvester donated music earnings to the AIDS Emergency Fund and Rita Rockett’s food programme for AIDS patients in Ward 86 of the San Francisco General Hospital. Sylvester was composing his third studio album the year before he passed away, but he was aware that he might never be able to release it.