Mississppi news anchor Celeste Wilson dies of a heart attack at 42

Wilson had recently joined the team at WAPT in Jackson, Mississippi, before she died. Her colleagues called her an “absolute joy to be around.”

This week, the team at 16 WAPT News in Jackson, Mississippi, mourned the loss of one of their anchors, Celeste Wilson. Wilson, whose full name is Dorothea Celeste Wilson, was only 42 years old when she unexpectedly died of a heart attack. The president and general manager at 16 WAPT, Peter Keith, wrote an editorial post on Friday praising Wilson, who had recently joined the newsroom.

“I can tell you she was an absolute joy to be around — a consummate professional with a smile that would light up a room. In our newsroom, she brought warmth and high standards, elevating not just stories but also the people around her,” he said.

The news station confirmed Wilson’s death on Wednesday, August 27.

Megan West, a colleague of Wilson, honored her with a video of her covering an event for the Girl Scouts of Mississippi. Wilson, a New Orleans, Louisiana native, had “deep Mississippi ties,” according to Wilson’s bio on 16 WAPT.

She was new to our team and so lovely,” she wrote in the Facebook post. “We chatted about how she was adjusting to morning show hours and life a few hours from her home in Louisiana. I treasure the memory of this last, sweet conversation.”

Some other tributes to Wilson include a post from the National Association of Black Journalists and one of Wilson’s former employers, KARK 4 News in Arkansas.

Wilson began her broadcast career at a CBS affiliate in Monroe, LA, and had worked at several other local news stations and in public broadcasting. She attended Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA, and later earned her master’s degree in journalism from Arizona State University.