Ilka Tanya Payán (January 7, 1943 – April 6, 1996) was a Dominican-born actress and attorney who later became a prominent HIV/AIDS activist in the United States.

Payán was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and immigrated to the United States at the age of thirteen, settling permanently in New York City.

While it was widely believed that the death of singer Héctor Lavoe in June 1993 influenced her, Payán in an interview with the New York Times said that it was an encounter with a man who she liked that helped her make the decision to announce her status.

[2] The announcement did not go well with some of her ten sisters and six brothers; many who lived in the Dominican Republic were disturbed over the fact that her revelation was received negatively there, as the general consensus in Latin American countries during the second half of the 1980s and early 1990s was that AIDS only affected homosexuals and prostitutes.

Speaking to this world body of diplomats allowed her to discuss the importance of educating citizens of developing nations on how to protect themselves and prevent the spread of the disease.

In the years preceding her death, Payán worked in the legal department for the Gay Men's Health Crisis, a non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based HIV/AIDS organization that has led the fight in educating the public on HIV/AIDS prevention.