Television personality Ananda Lewis was born on March 21, 1973 in San Diego, California. A daughter of Native American heritage, she first performed in front of a theater audience at the age of three, and she later went on to refine her craft and train for nine years at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. At the age of 13 Ananda was a volunteer at the Head Start organization, helping out other children from poor families. After a bad run-in with an abusive boyfriend, she also devoted her time to teaching young girls about abstinence and how to protect themselves against date rape.
Ananda graduated from Howard University, and has worked extensively since then on both radio and television. She co-hosted the daily morning radio show Block Party with John Salley in Los Angeles, and also hosted the program Teen Summit on the BET network. Later on, she became a VJ for MTV on their show Total Request Live, and by 2001 she was hosting her own syndicated talk show on television, The Ananda Lewis Show. She’s currently the host of the new reality television series, America’s Next Producer, which tests contestants’ creative savvy and their ability to create new and exciting television entertainment.
(Photo courtesy of TV Guide)