Hot News: Charlotte Dawson's great strengths were personality, intelligence and work ethic

TV personality Charlotte Dawson, who was found dead in her home in inner Sydney on Saturday. Photograph: Don Arnold/WireImage

On social media, Charlotte Dawson's death on Saturday was immediately blamed either on her well-publicised battle with depression or on the Twitter abuse she been subjected to in recent years.

The abuse, which was well documented in an interview on Nine's 60 Minutes in 2012, led to her admission to hospital.

'It kept going and going and going and going and going,' she said of the anonymous trolls on Twitter who told her to kill herself.

'It was just directed at me. Have you ever gone up to someone in the street and said that to them? No one I know would do that to anybody. You've been christened the Dapto Dogs, because that's what we think of you.'

But she appeared to bounce back and was active on Twitter in recent days, chatting to her 57,000 followers and trying to get help for people in need. She had a love-hate relationship with social media, however, and closed down her Twitter account in despair over abuse at least once.

A former model, Dawson, 47, came from New Zealand and first appeared in the popular press when she married, then two years later divorced, Australian Olympic swimmer Scott Miller.

She became a household name as a television personality, particularly on Australia's Next Top Model, a popular Foxtel reality show on which she was an outspoken, witty judge for eight seasons.

She managed the transition from modelling to high-profile TV presenter on the strength of her personality, intelligence and work ethic, but she suffered from depression and low self-esteem, which she wrote about in her autobiography Air Kiss and Tell.

'I'm tired of the anxiety that comes with working in media, especially as a woman, because you're scrutinised daily, and abused about the way you look,' she told News Corp.

'I'm ageing and I'm accepting that. The graceful thing, the dignified thing, is to walk away.'

Dawson also appeared on Mornings and Celebrity Apprentice Australia on Nine and Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards in 2012, where she was good humoured about being covered in green slime.

In September she announced that, after five years with Foxtel, her contract had not been renewed and she was winding up her television career to work in real estate.

In January she posted on her Twitter account: 'I truly adored my time on ANTM but my heart tells me I don't think young girls should pursue the modelling world.'

Her former management agency, Chic Management, which represented Dawson until parting ways over her social-media profile, said: '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.

Dawson continued to appear on the red carpet and at show business events this year, lunching just last week with Channel Nine personalities near her waterfront home in Sydney's Woolloomooloo and appearing on Nine's Mornings alongside Sonia Kruger and David Campbell on Friday.

'All Charlotte's friends at Channel Nine are shocked and devastated by the news this morning,' a spokesman said. 'We loved her and hope that she is at peace - she was a part of our television family and we will miss her warmth and beauty around us.'

The media industry was rocked by the news on Saturday, and celebrities poured out their feelings on Twitter.

Radio host Chrissie Swan said: 'To be remembered for bravery, generosity and kindness says a lot about the woman Charlotte Dawson was. Vale Ms Dawson. And bravo. X'

ABC newsreader Jeremy Fernandez said: 'Such an admirable & brave woman, was Charlotte Dawson. She took-up the fight for so many.'

A former colleague and host of Australia's Next Top Model Sarah Murdoch said: 'From when we first met, Charlotte would give me those real, doubled over laughs. She was so quick-witted and funny. Never rehearsed, Charlotte would just say it like it is. She was an incredibly supportive friend to me and all who were lucky enough to know her. Chars, you've left us too early. We will miss you terribly.'

A fellow former model and Celebrity Apprentice contestant Didier Cohen: 'This can't be true ... I just talked to you yesterday ... I love you mama and I will always miss you ... I wish you knew how much you were loved ... I love and miss you forever ... I can't believe this ... RIP.'

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