Columbia Journalism Student Beau Jessup Dies at 27

Columbia Journalism School announced that Beau Jessup, a 27-year-old student in its master’s journalism program, had died. The school said it was supporting her family and, with their permission, published an interview Jessup had completed before her death. Her cause and circumstances of death have not been publicly disclosed in the reports.

The school’s statement, dated November 9, offered condolences to Jessup’s family, friends and classmates. Columbia News published the interview on November 11, explaining that Jessup had reviewed an edited version beforehand. Columbia said the interview was released with her family’s permission and with the school community’s encouragement.

Jessup was expected to graduate in May 2027. Before studying at Columbia, she studied social anthropology at the London School of Economics and writing for performance at the University of Cambridge. In the interview, she described an interest in cultural journalism and in how institutions, identity and social expectations shape people’s lives.

Jessup said her interest in reporting began in part with questions about how people’s experiences are represented. “As the daughter of a television actress, I grew...