Charlie Sheen
In November 2015, this actor revealed that he'd been living with HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS -- for at least 4 years. He said he didn't know how he got it, and he admitted he'd paid people more than $10 million not to tell anyone he had it. Since then, he's become a spokesman for a Swedish brand of condoms and a public advocate for safe sex.
Eazy-E
This rapper from the group N.W.A. -- the subject of the movie Straight Outta Compton -- died in 1995 at 31, just a few weeks after learning he had AIDS. He didn't say how he got it, but he told the L.A. Times, "I have seven children by six different mothers. Maybe success was too good to me." His wife, whom he married just before his death, and his infant son didn't get the virus.
Isaac Asimov
The heart and kidney failure that killed the legendary science fiction writer in 1992 were caused by AIDS. He got HIV from a blood transfusion during heart surgery in 1983. It wasn't revealed publicly until his book It's Been a Good Life was published in 2002. It was written by Asimov before his death and edited by his wife after he died.
Danny Pintauro
Best known for his role as one of the kids in the '80s sitcom Who's The Boss?, Pintauro has been HIV positive since 2003. He says he got the virus while using the powerful street drug crystal meth, which can lead to risky behavior and may make your immune system weak.
Andy Bell
Just before Christmas 2004, the lead singer of the band Erasure said he and his boyfriend were HIV-positive. He told HIV Plus magazine that he'd known for more than 6 years but waited to talk about it because he didn't feel ready. His boyfriend -- and the band's manager -- Paul Hickey wrote about their battle with the virus in the book Sometimes: A Life of Love, Loss & Erasure. Hickey died in 2012.
Magic Johnson
The basketball legend announced he was HIV-positive in October 1991. The news was a wake-up call to straight men who thought they weren't at risk for the disease. Johnson retired from the L.A. Lakers but played in the 1992 NBA All-star Game and helped the U.S. Olympic Team take the gold later that same year. Since then, he's worked to educate people about HIV and AIDS.
Chuck Panozzo
In 2002 article for The Advocate, the bass player for the band Styx wrote: "When I was diagnosed 10 years ago, there was a lot of suffering in the gay community. Many people I knew died prematurely. … A whole segment of America was shunned because politics and religion got involved. That's an outrage." Panozzo is a spokesman for Human Rights Campaign and speaks about HIV/AIDS issues.
Arthur Ashe
The man who helped break the color barrier in professional tennis revealed he had AIDS in April 1992. He got HIV from a blood transfusion related to heart surgery. Once he went public, he spent the last months of his life raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and spoke about it on the floor of the United Nations. He died of complications from AIDS in February 1993.
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