Pedro Zamora

Pedro Zamora: Biography in Details

Who is Pedro Zamora?

Pedro Zamora was a Cuban-American AIDS educator and TV personality. He was one of the first openly gay men diagnosed with AIDS to be portrayed in popular media.

Zamora brought significant international attention to HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ on the reality television series, The Real World: San Francisco.

Pedro Zamora: Age, Parents, Siblings, Family, Childhood, Ethnicity

Pedro Zamora was born in Diezmero, San Miguel del Padrón, Cuba, on February 29, 1972. His age was 22 at the time of his death.

He was born to parents Héctor Zamora (father) and Zoraida Diaz (mother). His father worked in a food warehouse and his mom was a housewife. He was his parents’ youngest child and has seven elder siblings.

In 1980, when he was eight, his family left Cuba and migrated to the United States. His childhood was far from straightforward. His mother died of skin cancer when he was just 13.

A year later, his father found out about his sexuality. He was accepting the fact but was afraid of homophobes.

His ethnicity is Latin-American.

In which school did Pedro Zamora attend?

After his mother’s death, he focused on schoolwork as a means of coping. He was the president of the Science Clum, Captain of the Cross-Country team, and an honor student in Hialeah High School. He graduated in 1990.

Diagnosed HIV-Positive and Raising Awareness

During his junior year of high school when he was 17, he donated blood during a Red Cross blood drive. A month later, He received a letter from the Red Cross a month later informing him that his blood tested ‘reactive’ which is why he decided to test for HIV. On November 9, 1989, the reports confirmed he was HIV-Positive.

He suffered a severe case of shingles after graduating from high school. He learned more about the disease and how despite having the disease, he could still live a fulfilling life. Zamora wanted to raise awareness in his community after that and became an AIDS educator. He lectured at schools, PTA meetings, and churches.

In 1991, his work attracted national attention when a front-page article about him was published in the Wall Street Journal. He was invited to talk shows by Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera, and Oprah Winfrey.

The Real World

Pedro Zamora sent an audition tape for MTV’s reality TV show, The Real World with the aim of reaching more people by national exposure. Six months later, he became a part of the show. On February 12, 1994, he and his castmates moved in together. Zamora informed them he was HIV-positive. At the time, his castmate, Ling was the only one who knew how HIV was transmitted.

All of the other castmates were receptive to Zamora. Later, Zamora educated all of them and later everyone was fond of him and his personality.

Midway through filming, his health suddenly declined and he suffered from night sweats, pneumonia, fatigue, and weight loss. Producer Jon One of his castmate Rainey’s antagonism towards Zamora started becoming intolerable.

He mocked his Cuban accent and made homophobic comments. This forced Zamora to announce he was moving out. However, all the other castmates unanimously agreed that they wanted him to stay and evicted Rainey instead. Time magazine famously ranked this episode number 7 on its list of “32 Epic Moments in Reality-TV History”.

Death and Final Days

On August 17, 1994, Zamora was diagnosed with Toxoplasmosis. Further tests revealed more bad news as he also had progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a very rare condition in which fatal viral inflammation of the brain disrupts the electrical impulses of the nervous system. The doctors gave him a few months’ time to live.

Then-President Bill Clinton called him to thank him for his work and asked if there was anything he could do for his family. They replied that they wanted his remaining siblings in Cuba to be with him in his final days. The family reunited for the first time in 14 years.

Zamora died at 4:40 a.m. EST on November 11, 1994, just hours after his final episode of The Real World had aired. He was buried two days later, on November 13.

How much is the net worth of Pedro Zamora?

Pedro Zamora had an estimated net worth of around $10 million according to some online sources. He earned money as a TV personality. There is no information about his salary.

Body Measurements: Height, Weight

Zamora had black hair and a pair of brown eyes. There is no information about his height and weight.

Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

He was not active on social media sites.

You may also like to read more about the Bio, Career, Net Worth, Relationships, and more about Kirk Norcross, Jason Hoppy, Adam Lambert, etc.

Pedro Zamora's Birthday Dates