Andy Cohen took time out of Thursday night’s Watch What Happens Live to honor Kyra Samson, a former production manager on the Bravo late-night show, who died Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. She was 28.
“This is hard for me to get through,” Cohen said before sharing the news with viewers. Samson, he said, spent “four wonderful years” with the WWHL team, where she was known for “her sweet smile and gentle demeanor,” as well as her ability to become “a small but mighty enforcer” when the job called for it.
“To see Kyra on a bullhorn corralling massive crowds at BravoCon was truly a sight to behold,” Cohen said. “She’s gonna be terribly missed by all of us here, and no doubt, by everyone who was lucky enough to know her.”
Cohen encouraged viewers to honor Samson’s memory by donating to The Kyra Fund, a partnership with the Glioblastoma Research Organization supporting research for people with glioblastomas.
“I hope you’ll join us in honoring her legacy by donating to The Kyra Fund, which will help provide urgently needed research for people with glioblastomas and hopefully help future Kyras out there,” Cohen said, directing viewers to fundraise.gbmresearch.org/thekyrafund. “We are sending all of our prayers and love to her fam and her friends. We love you, Kyra. Thanks.”
Samson was the daughter of former Miami Marlins president David Samson, who hosts the podcast Nothing Personal with David Samson. As Stephen J. Nesbitt reported for The Athletic, Samson was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme after colleagues on the set of Jeopardy! noticed something was wrong during a taping last September.
Kyra had joined Jeopardy! as a production coordinator in March 2025 after working at Watch What Happens Live, where she began as a production assistant following her graduation from Northwestern University.
Her family’s fundraising page describes her as someone who “lit up every room she entered with her energy and smile,” and as “the lively daughter, guiding sibling, relied upon friend, devoted partner, and dependable colleague.” As of Friday, The Kyra Fund had raised nearly $300,000 toward its $350,000 goal.
The fund will support a new immunotherapy research project focused on glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.
“I want Kyra to be the statistic—one of the catalysts that helped stop this pain from impacting other families and other young people,” David Samson told The Athletic.
Watch Cohen’s full tribute to Samson below:
Tonight we are honoring an incomparable part of the #WWHL team. Visit https://t.co/6ZwmL4cuce to donate to the Kyra fund. pic.twitter.com/u90YIbbnQ1
— Watch What Happens Live! (@BravoWWHL) June 26, 2026
