Beau Jessop, the daughter of British actress Lisa Maxwell, has passed away suddenly at the age of 27.
The heart-wrenching news of her death was announced by Columbia Journalism School in New York, where she was studying.
“We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, classmates and all who knew and loved her,” a statement released on the school’s website read. “The J-School is working with Beau’s family to offer support and assistance during this difficult time.”
The cause of death has not yet been revealed.
Along with the statement, the school also shared an interview conducted with Beau in October.
“Last month, Columbia News reached out to Jessup as part of the Notebook series, which highlights some of the many fascinating students who study at the University,” the statement read. “With permission from her family and encouragement from leaders and her peers at the J-School, Columbia News decided to publish this insightful discussion in memory of her far-too-brief life and experience at Columbia and in New York City.”
In the interview, Beau revealed how her mother’s career inspired her to study journalism.
“As the daughter of a television actress, I grew up with an unusual awareness of the distance between people’s lives and the stories told about them,” Beau said in the interview. “I saw how journalism could illuminate someone’s experiences, but also how those experiences could be distorted, simplified or transformed into a public narrative over which the subject had very little control.”
“I was curious, from quite a young age, about who gets to tell people’s stories,” she added.
For those unaware, Beau was the only child of Lisa, whom she welcomed with husband Paul Jessup in October 1999.
