CD8⁺ T‐lymphocyte responses are crucial to the control of HIV‐1; therefore, studying the CD8⁺ immune response in a naturally resistant population could provide valuable insights into an effective anti‐HIV response in healthy uninfected individuals. Approximately 5–10% of the women in the Pumwani Commercial Sex Worker cohort in Nairobi, Kenya, have been highly exposed to HIV‐1 yet remain HIV‐IgG‐seronegative and HIV‐PCR negative (HIV^ES). As IFN‐γ production correlates to cytotoxic function, the CD8⁺ T‐lymphocyte IFN‐γ response to HIV p24 peptides was compared in HIV^ES and HIV‐infected (HIV⁺) individuals. Almost 40% of the HIV^ES had a CD8⁺ IFN‐γ⁺ response that was five times lower in magnitude than that of the HIV⁺ group. The breadth of the response in HIV^ES was very narrow and focused primarily on one peptide that is similar to the protective KK10 peptide. In the HIV⁺ group, low peripheral CD4⁺ counts negatively influenced the number of CD8⁺ cells producing IFN‐γ, which may undermine the ability to control HIV. Overall, many of the HIV^ES women possess a HIV‐1 p24‐specific CD8⁺ IFN‐γ response, providing evidence to the specificity needed for an effective HIV vaccine.