Jump to content

Charlotte Dawson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For another person, seeCharlotte Dawson (English TV personality).
Charlotte Dawson
Dawson in February 2013
Born(1966-04-08)8 April 1966[citation needed]
Auckland,[citation needed]New Zealand
Died22 February 2014(2014-02-22)(aged 47)
Woolloomooloo, New South Wales,Australia
Cause of deathSuicide by hanging
Body discoveredWoolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia
CitizenshipAustralia, New Zealand (dual)
Occupation(s)Television personality and former model
Years active1982–2014
Spouse
​
(m.1999⁠–⁠2000)​
RelativesEmily Barclay(niece)

Charlotte Dawson(8 April 1966 – 22 February 2014) was a New Zealand–Australian television personality. She was known in New Zealand for her roles as host ofGetaway,and in Australia as a host onThe Contender Australiaand as a judge onAustralia's Next Top Model.[1]In 2014, her death bysuicideattracted Australasian-wide news coverage.

Careers[edit]

Dawson grew up inAuckland,New Zealand, after being adopted at birth.[2]Shedropped outof high school at age 16 to model inEuropeand withFord ModelsinNew York City.[3]A decade later she relocated to Australia where she became a familiar face on the Australian fashion scene.

In 1997, she became beauty and fashion director forWoman's Dayand soon after became style editor forNew Ideamagazine.[1]In 2000, she was the face of thePeter Morrisseyfashion label,[4]presenting her own fashion segment weekly onGood Morning AustraliaforNetwork Ten,[1]and featuring in the fashion section ofSydney's Olympic Gamesopening ceremony.She was the fashion correspondent for Channel Ten's entertainment programmeE! Newsand also a regular panelist on the network's daytime showBeauty and the Beast,and guest onBurke's Backyardand Channel Nine'sSimply The Best.[citation needed]

While working for Australian agencies Cameron's and Priscilla's as an agent, she decided to try her hand at TV. She became a researcher atNine Networkand worked on programs such asMoneyandLooking Good.[citation needed]Shortly after, she became fashion editor for the network'sTodayprogram, filing weekly reports on local and international fashion news and events within the industry.[citation needed]Magazines such asVogue,Elle,She,Dolly,CleoandModetracked Dawson's progress, featuring her in fashion spreads.

She had many appearances as a "celebrity model" at fashion shows and was a guest fashion commentator forNine's Wide World of Sports;she also made regular appearances onThe Footy Show,and had several hosting and MC jobs at media events.[citation needed]

Dawson returned to Auckland in 2002 where she had presenting roles onTVNZ's chat showHow's Life?,andPrime'sGetawayandCharlotte's Lists.[citation needed]

She then returned to Australia, where she was a judge (and sometimes mentor to the models during challenges) onFOX8'sAustralia's Next Top Modelfrom Season 3 in 2007 to Season 8 in 2013. In 2008, she filled in for regular hostJodhi Mearesfor the live finale. Dawson also hosted theFoxtelseriesRunway to L.A.[5]

Dawson in April 2013

In 2012 she appeared as one of the 'celebrity' contestants, raising money for her chosen charity, on thesecond seasonofThe Celebrity Apprentice Australia.August 2012 saw a new period of media unrest for Dawson, following an interview with New Zealand'sHerald on Sundayabout her thoughts on her former home. "New Zealand is small, nasty and vindictive. It's a tiny, little village... a tiny country at the end of the earth," she said'.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Dawson was married to Australian Olympic swimmerScott Millerfrom 1999 to 2000.[citation needed]

Charlotte expressed regrets about having an abortion revealing it deepened her depression.[7][8]

Anti-cyberbullying[edit]

In 2012, Dawson was admitted toSt Vincent's Hospitalin Sydney after attempting suicide due to a much publicised battle withTwittertrolls.[9]Dawson was rushed to hospital after being found in a fragile state by a formerAustralia's Next Top Modelfinalist.[3]Dawson was made the target of an organised online campaign of harassment in part due to her involvement with an anti-cyber-bullying initiative Community Brave.[10]A representative for Community Brave identified one of Dawson's Twitter trolls as Tanya Heti, an employee of Melbourne'sMonash University.Community Brave reported the incident to Heti's employer and she was stood down without pay. She was reinstated shortly afterwards when the university found she was not guilty of misconduct.[11]

Dawson then appeared onChannel Seven'sSeven Newsin order to expose the allegedsocial mediatrolls. Dawson insisted that she was not involved with conducting the research for the story, and that she was only acting as a person confronting the alleged trolls on camera.[12]An intense promotional campaign and launch of Dawson's biographyAir Kiss and Tellbegan two weeks later.[12]

In 2013, Dawson announced a new role as anti-bullying ambassador with theNational Rugby League(NRL).[13]Some media sources, such as theDaily Telegraph,suggested that Dawson was guilty of double standards, citing her aggressive television persona and her history of discouraging contestants onAustralia's Next Top Model.[14][15]Peter FordfromMelbourne's3AWalleged that "the problem of Charlotte taking on this cause is, her act is about abusing people and putting them down so it becomes a bit murky as to why she has become a champion of this particular cause".[16]Dawson was also heavily criticised in the media after broadcasting disparaging remarks onAFLfootballers' partnersas a part of her role as a fashion expert for television coverage of the AFL'sBrownlow Medal.[12]

Death[edit]

On 22 February 2014, Dawson died by suicide in herWoolloomooloohome.[2]A real estate agent found her body when he arrived to inspect the property ahead of its auction.[17]Police were called and confirmed her death at 11:18 am.[4]Her friends were reportedly concerned when she had not updated herTwitterorInstagramaccounts in the previous 19 hours.[18]

Australian fashion designerAlex Perrysaid of her, "We lost a beautiful, bright, shining girl today".[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcHenry, Lornelle (22 October 2012)."The Fact Sheet: Whose House with Amanda Keller – Charlotte Dawson"(PDF).Network Ten.Ten Network Holdings. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 March 2016.Retrieved22 February2014.
  2. ^abO'Brien, Natalie; Ralston, Nick (22 February 2014)."Charlotte Dawson found dead".smh.com.au.Retrieved22 February2014.
  3. ^abClarke, Jenna (21 October 2012)."From top models to Twitter trolls".The Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved22 February2014.
  4. ^abHurley, Bevan (22 February 2014)."Charlotte Dawson found dead in Sydney home".The New Zealand Herald.AAP.Retrieved22 February2014.
  5. ^"Charlotte Dawson knows runway pitfalls".Herald Sun.7 September 2007.Retrieved22 February2014.
  6. ^Anstiss, Celeste Gorrell (5 August 2012)."Don't call Charlotte a Kiwi".Herald on Sunday.Retrieved22 February2014.
  7. ^"Bill Crews: Charlotte Dawson: Reverend Bill Crews replays his interview with the late Charlotte Dawson, conducted last year".2GB. 24 February 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 5 February 2015.Retrieved5 February2015.
  8. ^"Charlotte Dawson: I gave up my baby for my husband".The Australian Women's Weekly. 26 September 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 5 February 2015.Retrieved5 February2015.
  9. ^"Charlotte Dawson to expose media trolls on Seven News".The Australian.Australian Associated Press.23 October 2012.Retrieved22 February2014.
  10. ^"Next Top Model Judge Hospitalized after Twitter Bullying Leads to Suicide Attempt".Retrieved27 October2012.
  11. ^Brogan, Nikki (28 August 2012)."Charlotte Dawson Vs Australia's Next Top Troll".Retrieved27 October2012.
  12. ^abcHornery, Andrew."Dawson defends decision to out trolls".The Sydney Morning Herald.Archived fromthe originalon 26 October 2012.Retrieved27 October2012.
  13. ^"Charlotte Dawson announces new role with NRL as anti-bullying ambassador".news.com.au.24 January 2013.Retrieved4 March2014.
  14. ^Papworth, Laurel (30 August 2012)."Charlotte Dawson, Cyberbullies and Social Media Pot and Kettle".Retrieved27 October2012.
  15. ^"Australia's Next Top Model host Charlotte Dawson on 10 years of relationship heartache".Retrieved27 October2012.
  16. ^Franklin, Ned."Charlotte Dawson 'needs to back off' troll campaign".Archived fromthe originalon 26 October 2012.Retrieved27 October2012.
  17. ^Nicholls, Stephen (23 February 2014)."Real estate agent found Charlotte Dawson's body".smh.com.au.Retrieved24 February2014.
  18. ^O'Brien, Natalie; Ralston, Nick (22 February 2014)."Charlotte Dawson found dead"– via The Sydney Morning Herald.
  19. ^"Australian TV star Charlotte Dawson found dead at home".BBC News.BBC. 22 February 2014.Retrieved22 February2014.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCharlotte Dawson.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charlotte_Dawson&oldid=1227564121"