CNN anchor Sara Sidner and CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam tearfully mourned the death of their close friend, former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis.

Ananda Lewis, a former MTV VJ who connected a generation of music fans to their favorite celebrities in the network’s heyday, has died. She was 52.

As a Black female voice in media, Ananda Lewis’s impact broke many invisible barriers, challenging stereotypes and paving the way for the generation that followed.