Dayle Haddon, the Canadian model, actress and activist, has died at the age of 76. The multi-hyphenate, who started her career as a dancer before becoming the first model to hold four major cosmetic contracts with Max Factor, Revlon, Estée Lauder and L’Oréal, has died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, after being found unresponsive in a Pennsylvania home, according to a report from ABC 6.
Haddon was declared dead on Dec. 27, after first responders found her in the carriage house of the home her daughter, journalist Ryan Haddon, shares with her son-in-law, Hallmark and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” actor Marc Blucas, in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania. Authorities also found an unconscious 76-year-old man who has not yet been identified, who is currently receiving treatment at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. Family members who were in the main house were not affected by the suspected carbon monoxide leak.
Dayle Haddon in 1983.
Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Authorities believe that the source of the leak was a defective boiler heating unit. “It is believed a heating unit, a boiler unit, is the source of the carbon monoxide,” Det. Sgt. Jonathan Koretzky of the Solebury Twp. Police Department said in a statement. “The initial readings on EMS and fire company arrival were extremely high, so we’re treating this as a carbon monoxide poisoning incident.”
A toxicology report is currently in the works to determine Haddon’s official cause of death.
Last night, Ryan honored her mom with a collage of photos on Instagram from Haddon’s modeling career, personal life and work as an activist. “The bright light that is Dayle has dimmed in this Earthly realm,” Ryan wrote, adding, “She held so many up, saw their greatness sometimes hidden to them, and always built bridges with her own connections to help them ascend. She was everyone’s greatest champion. An inspiration to many.”
Dayle Haddon attends the 2009 UNICEF Snowflake Ball at Cipriani 42nd Street on December 2, 2009 in New York City.
Andrew H. Walker
The Canadian dancer-turned-model, actress and activist, born May 26, 1948, set a blue print for the modeling industry as the face of four cosmetic companies — a record she set, that includes her 15-year-plus career with L’Oréal — and as a figurehead who made the transition from modeling to acting and activism.
Haddon, who started out as a model in the Seventies, later recalled how her definition of beauty has evolved over the years, telling WWD in 2017, “The way I looked was not the look at the time — very tall Nordic or Texan blonde girl. I was a very small, dark-haired Canadian with little freckles. It just wasn’t an ‘in’ look. There wasn’t a lot of diversity in looks, which there is now and is great,” she said. “It took me a long time to be successful, which makes you more grateful.”
Throughout her career, Haddon worked with iconic fashion photographer Guy Bourdin, who she recalled “owing everything” to. “We didn’t care about the paycheck we only cared about creating great photos,” she told WWD of the pair’s approach. Haddon also recalled collaborating with Sarah Moon, Helmut Newton, Cecil Beaton, Jacques Henri Lartigue, saying, “For me, modeling has a lot of richness, history and depth for relating, being exposed to creativity and a complicity when people work together on something artistic and really great.”
In the Seventies, Haddon starred on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and branched out into acting, with roles in the 1973 Disney movie “The World’s Greatest Athlete,” 1975’s “The Cheaters,” 1977’s “Madame Claude” and 1979’s “North Dallas Forty.” Later, she also had roles in 1986’s “Desert Chase,” 1989’s “Cyborg,” 1992’s “Unbecoming Age” and 1994’s “Bullets Over Broadway.”
In 1999, Haddon penned the book “Ageless Beauty: A Woman’s Guide to Lifelong Beauty and Well-Being,” a compendium of inner and outer self-care tips, from boosting one’s self-esteem, sleep, and meditation practice to makeup and beauty products she loves. “Beauty in your Twenties is a wrinkle-free beauty, with no marks, no experience,” she told WWD in 2017. “It takes time for experience and that’s a different kind of beauty. For me, a lot of beauty is wrapped up in how you treat people, how you feel about yourself and how generous you are. Generous means many things — listening, including or being kind to people. It can also be about giving, doing what you can, or making a positive difference wherever you are with whoever you meet as best you can. That’s real beauty… You can’t desperately hang onto what you looked like or what you were like in your Twenties, Thirties or Forties. Even though you let go of some gifts, you embrace some new gifts.”
In the aughts Haddon practiced her knowledge of wellness as a CBS News contributor, appearing frequently on “The Early Show” beginning in 2005. That same year, Haddon also became a UNICEF ambassador and traveled extensively throughout Africa and South America. Her experience inspired her to found WomenOne, a non-profit devoted to creating positive change in the lives of women and girls globally through access to quality education.
In 2017, she was honored for her work at the United Nations Women for Peace Awards. “It was very important to me to not work in a silo. I am very big believer in helping especially other women with what they’re doing to support positive women’s issues,” she told WWD at the time. “What we have to do is move the bar for women’s issues and not wait for government to do everything. We have to as a private sector come together. It’s all about partnering. I don’t believe in doing things on your own. Whatever I have I’m willing to offer it up — whatever resources. Let’s have these great women, but there are men, too, who come together and say, ‘Let’s do this because it’s the right thing to do.’ Why sit back in your armchair and complain about the way things are going? Let’s peacefully and with a lot of strength join together and say, ‘Let’s do what’s right by women and girls globally.’”
