Charlotte Dawson Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Charlotte Dawson
Dawson in February 2013
Born	(1966-04-08)8 April 1966 Auckland, New Zealand
Died	22 February 2014(2014-02-22) (aged 47) Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia
Citizenship	Australia, New Zealand (dual)
Occupation	Television personality and former model
Years active	1982–2014
Spouse(s)	Scott Miller (m. 1999⁠–⁠2000)

Charlotte Dawson (born 8 April 1966 – died 22 February 2014) was a well-known television personality from New Zealand and Australia. She was famous in New Zealand for hosting the show Getaway. In Australia, she was a host on The Contender Australia and a judge on Australia's Next Top Model. In 2014, her passing attracted wide news coverage across Australia and New Zealand.

Charlotte Dawson's Career Journey

Charlotte Dawson grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, after being adopted as a baby. She left high school at age 16 to start a modeling career. She worked in Europe and with Ford Models in New York City. About ten years later, she moved to Australia. There, she became a familiar face in the fashion world.

Early Fashion and TV Roles

In 1997, Charlotte became the beauty and fashion director for Woman's Day magazine. Soon after, she became the style editor for New Idea magazine. By 2000, she was the face of the Peter Morrissey fashion brand. She also had her own fashion segment every week on Good Morning Australia for Network Ten. She even featured in the fashion part of the Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony.

Charlotte was also a fashion reporter for Channel Ten's entertainment show E! News. She was a regular guest on the talk show Beauty and the Beast. She also appeared on Burke's Backyard and Channel Nine's Simply The Best.

Moving Behind the Scenes and Back to TV

After working as an agent for Australian modeling agencies, Charlotte decided to try television. She became a researcher at Nine Network. She worked on shows like Money and Looking Good. Soon, she became the fashion editor for the network's Today program. She reported weekly on fashion news and events from Australia and around the world. Magazines like Vogue, Elle, She, Dolly, Cleo and Mode featured Charlotte in their fashion sections.

She often appeared as a "celebrity model" at fashion shows. She was also a guest fashion expert for Nine's Wide World of Sports. She made regular appearances on The Footy Show. She also hosted many media events.

In 2002, Charlotte returned to Auckland, New Zealand. There, she hosted TVNZ's chat show How's Life?. She also hosted Getaway and Charlotte's Lists for Prime TV.

Charlotte Dawson in April 2013

Later, she moved back to Australia. From 2007 to 2013, she was a judge on FOX8's Australia's Next Top Model. She sometimes helped the models during challenges. In 2008, she hosted the live finale when the regular host was away. Charlotte also hosted the Foxtel series Runway to L.A.

In 2012, she was a celebrity contestant on the second season of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia. She raised money for her chosen charity. In August 2012, Charlotte caused some discussion after an interview with New Zealand's Herald on Sunday. She shared her thoughts about her former home, saying, "New Zealand is small, nasty and vindictive. It's a tiny, little village ... a tiny country at the end of the earth."

Charlotte Dawson's Personal Life

Charlotte Dawson was married to Australian Olympic swimmer Scott Miller. They were married from 1999 to 2000.

Charlotte Dawson and Anti-Cyberbullying Efforts

Charlotte Dawson became a target of online harassment. This happened partly because she was involved with Community Brave, a group that fights cyberbullying. Charlotte was taken to the hospital after being found unwell by a former Australia's Next Top Model contestant.

A representative for Community Brave identified one of the people harassing Charlotte on Twitter. This person was an employee of Melbourne's Monash University. Community Brave reported the incident to the university. The employee was temporarily suspended without pay but was later reinstated when the university found no misconduct.

Charlotte then appeared on Channel Seven's Seven News to talk about the alleged online bullies. She stated that she was not involved in researching the story. She was only on camera to confront the people accused of bullying. Two weeks later, a big campaign started for her book, Air Kiss and Tell.

In 2013, Charlotte announced she would be an anti-bullying ambassador for the National Rugby League (NRL). Some news sources, like the Daily Telegraph, questioned this role. They pointed out her strong TV personality and how she sometimes discouraged contestants on Australia's Next Top Model. Peter Ford from Melbourne's 3AW said that Charlotte's TV act often involved criticizing people. This made it seem confusing why she became a champion for this cause. Charlotte also received criticism for making negative comments about AFL footballers' partners. She made these comments as a fashion expert during TV coverage of the AFL's Brownlow Medal.

Charlotte Dawson's Passing

On 22 February 2014, Charlotte Dawson passed away. A real estate agent found her body when he arrived to inspect her property before an auction. Police were called and confirmed her death at 11:18 am. There were no suspicious circumstances. Her friends were worried when she had not updated her Twitter or Instagram accounts for 19 hours.

Australian fashion designer Alex Perry said about her, "We lost a beautiful, bright, shining girl today."