Lisa Maxwell's daughter Beau, 27, dies in New York City

The Bill star Lisa Maxwell's daughter, Beau Rose Jessup, has died. She was 27.

Columbia University in New York City announced the journalism student's unexpected death via Instagram.

"Columbia Journalism School mourns the loss of Beau Jessup, a student in our M.S. (Master of Science) programme. We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, classmates and all who knew and loved her. The J-School is working with Beau's family to offer support and assistance during this difficult time," the statement read.

The Ivy League school did not disclose Jessup's cause of death.

She was six months shy of graduating with her master's degree in May 2027.

Jessup told Columbia News her interest in reporting was sparked during her studies at the London School of Economics and the University of Cambridge.

In an interview last month, Jessup reflected on growing up in a famous household with her mum, explaining, "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.

"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," she opined.

Maxwell played Detective Inspector Samantha Nixon in the British police drama from 2002 to 2009. She was a regular panellist on the chat show Loose Women from 2009 to 2014.

Maxwell welcomed her daughter with her husband, Paul Jessup, in October 1999. The couple, who tied the knot in July 2014, have yet to speak publicly about the tragedy.