Charlotte Dawson found dead after long and public battle with depression
POLICE have confirmed the body of a woman has been discovered in Sydney’s Woolloomooloo Wharf. It is thought to be that of television personality Charlotte Dawson.
CHARLOTTE Dawson was found dead at her Woolloomooloo home yesterday, following a long and very public battle with depression.
Friends of Dawson’s have spoken of a sense of inevitability around her death, revealing that in recent weeks the prominent media personality’s mental state seemed specially fragile.
It is believed Dawson was struggling financially, having borrowed up to $80,000 from friends as she tried to keep up the rent on her $1200-a-week apartment.
She had also been axed from her role on the popular Foxtel TV show Australia’s Next Top Model, and last November parted ways with management company Chic Management after they said her battles with mental illness were ‘damaging her brand’.
Only a week ago, Dawson’s ex-husband Scott Miller had appeared on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes to talk about his drug addiction and the role it had played in the breakdown of their marriage. Dawson, who described Miller as the ‘love of her life’, said at the time she wasn’t sure if she would be strong enough to watch the interview.
Her body was discovered the morning after Miller’s 39th birthday.
Dawson is understood to have been found by a security guard in her rented waterside apartment in the early hours of yesterday morning. Her body was later formally identified yesterday by Madeline Huett, a friend and former Top Model contestant.
It’s a devastating loss for the family and friends of the 47-year-old television presenter. Dawson was hospitalised in 2012 after hundreds of social media trolls viciously targeted her on Twitter.
The Sunday Telegraph reported well before Dawson’s death, ripples had been circulating through Sydney’s celebrity pack that a suicide attempt was inevitable.
A police media spokesman told news.com.au: “About 11am, police from the Kings Cross local area command were called to Cowper Wharf Road after the body of a woman had been located in a unit. No suspicious circumstances at this stage and a report is being prepared for the coroner.”
It is believed her body was discovered after a real estate agent raised the alarm after she couldn’t reach Dawson by mobile phone in relation to the auction of her home.
Dawson, who was broke and had recently been axed from television, had been in a “bad place” with friends becoming increasingly concerned about her mental state.
“She was in very bad shape emotionally. Terrible shape,” said one close friend, who asked not to be named. “She had failed to show up to a lunch a couple of days ago and then when I had seen she hadn’t tweeted in almost a day it was clear something was wrong.”
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Dawson, who was an anti-bullying advocate, appeared on the Nine Network’s A Current Affair and Ten Network’s The Project earlier this week to expose vitriolic Twitter bullying, with many followers calling for her to “please go hang yourself.”
Followers also attacked the Kiwi-born former model’s appearance and personal life on the social networking site.
Dawson last appeared on Nine’s Morning Show on Friday and posted a photo of herself on Instagram prior to her appearance. ‘‘About to go on @mornings9 to talk sex. As you can see I’m racking my brains & have gone blank,” she wrote, along with the below snap.
Alarm bells are said to have started ringing when those close to Dawson noticed that her Twitter account had remained dormant for 19 hours. She had been tweeting frequently on Friday about victims of life threatening cancer conditions and in particular about a man suffering inoperable stomach cancer.
Her last tweet to her 53,700 followers just over 20 hours ago read:
We have the hospitals/resources & the doctors & professors willing to help. Where is the govt support?
— Charlotte Dawson (@MsCharlotteD) February 21, 2014Close friend Alex Perry spoke to news.com.au in the wake of the tragic news. “She was such a beautiful girl, she had so much energy and such a sense of humour but her battle with her mental illness just made it so difficult for her to really go in so many parts of her life,” he said.
“It was such a battle and as she got older it was harder to deal with, I just can’t believe she has taken her own life but all I can do is pray for her and know now that she is up there with her mother who she dearly loved.
“I loved Charlotte so much but she was a very tormented woman and really was finding it hard to battle her mental illness,” says the fashion designer, who appeared alongside Ms Dawson as a judge on Australia’s Next Top Model.
“She obviously has tried and tried so hard to raise awareness of mental illness but it really did just totally take its toll and got on top of her. As I said, I pray for her.”
Mr Perry posted this photo on his Instagram account this morning.
The caption reads: “WE LOST A BEAUTIFUL, BRIGHT, SHINING GIRL TODAY... REST IN PEACE MY SWEETHEART...I LOVE YOU. X”
Long-time colleague and friend Melissa Hoyer has also spoken about the tragic news: “Having known Charlotte for 20 years she was always bright, funny, beautiful and with a turn of phrase that would just make you laugh, no matter what she was talking about,” she told news.com.au.
MELISSA HOYER - THE CHARLOTTE I KNEW
“While we hadn’t been hanging out as much over the last few years — as our careers took us in different directions — we always had fun exchanges, usually on her bittersweet social platform, Twitter.”
“Charlotte’s mental illness just seemed to be getting the better of her at times and it is such a tragedy that she has ended her life under such circumstances.
“All of us who have known her for such a long time, whether as friend, colleague or family are collectively in shock. I just hope she finds the peace that she wanted in every part of her life. May she rest in peace.”
Foxtel Executive Director of Television, Brian Walsh, has also released a statement: “What a terrible and tragic loss. Everyone at Foxtel who worked with Charlotte is devastated. Charlotte has been an integral part of the company for many years, working on a range of entertainment productions, most notably Australia’s Next Top Model,” Mr Walsh said.
“Suffice to say, that the show’s success owes a great deal to her contribution. Charlotte was reliable, professional, passionate and loyal. Indeed she was the type of performer who excelled under pressure and could always be relied upon to deliver.
“I know that she had many fans, especially young girls, who saw her as role model. A strong, intelligent woman who loved life. It is profoundly sad that hers had to end this way. Our thoughts go to her family and friends. May she be at peace now.”
Chic Management, which represented Dawson until three months ago, released a statement in reaction to the news.
“The directors and team at Chic Celebrity are deeply saddened by the news of the death of Charlotte Dawson today.
“Charlotte was a hard working and talented presenter and host who also became a strong advocate in relation to a number of modern social issues.
“Charlotte was a generous and passionate supporter of a number of key charities and will be remembered as an intelligent, enthusiastic and energetic woman.
“The Chic team wish to express their sincere condolences to Charlotte’s family and friends.”
The shocking news led to an immediate outpouring of grief on social media networks from family and friends.
To the beautiful Charlotte Dawson. Your infectious personality will be sorely missed #RIPCharlotte
— Ryan Fitzgerald (@FitzySA) February 22, 2014Charley D...Just don't understand. There's not enough kind souls as it is. Rest in peace.
— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) February 22, 2014Heartbroken to hear news that Charlotte Dawson has died. In shock right now. U will always have a special place in our hearts Charlotte. RIP
— Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) February 22, 2014Oh my god. Staggeringly awful news about Charlotte Dawson. Please all take care of yourselves. x
— Marieke Hardy (@mariekehardy) February 22, 2014Reports that our friend Charlotte Dawson has been found dead in her home. Heart broken x
— fifianddave (@fifianddave) February 22, 2014RIP Charlotte Dawson . I'm devastated such an amazing woman & kind soul. Heartbreaking !
— RACHEL HUNTER (@rachelhunterx) February 22, 2014Troubled. Funny. Opinionated. Wry. Clever. Beautiful. Passionate. Wanting to b loved. That's the Charlotte Dawson many of us knew. Rest now.
— Melissa Hoyer (@melissahoyer) February 22, 2014In August 2012, Dawson was admitted to St Vincent’s Hospital after attempting to commit suicide when she was attacked by Twitter trolls for naming and shaming a Twitter user, who brutally told her to hang herself.
She received medical help in the psychiatric emergency unit.
“I’ve been banging on about this [bullying] for 12 years, I’m not giving up,” she told news.com.au last year. “They can keep attacking me if they want, but I’m going to keep going.”
Dawson checked herself into the same hospital in November 2013 after suffering a panic attack.
The media personality had often documented her struggles with depression via her Twitter account and had been vocal about her battle with mental illness, writing at length about it in her tell-all book Air Kiss And Tell, released the same year of her first suicide attempt.
It was announced last year that the long-time judge would not be returning to Australia’s Next Top Model after a cast shake-up by the network.
For support and information about suicide prevention, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
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