Model Dayle Haddon, trailblazer who fought ageism in fashion, dies from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning

Dayle Haddon, actor, activist, and model, who revolutionised the industry with her advocacy for ‘older’ models, has died.

Dayle Haddon was everything from model to actor, and a trailblazing activist. But her greatest legacy, perhaps, would be helping open up the fashion industry to ‘older’ models and pushing against age limits. Haddon, a former Sports Illustrated model who created waves by reentering the industry as a widow, has died in a Pennsylvania home from what authorities believe was carbon monoxide poisoning.

Dayle Haddon, a popular actor and model, was 76.

Dayle Haddon's death

Authorities in Bucks County found Haddon, 76, dead in a second-floor bedroom Friday morning after emergency dispatchers were notified about a person unconscious at the Solebury Township home. A 76-year-old man police later identified as Walter J. Blucas of Erie was hospitalized in critical condition.

Responders detected a high level of carbon monoxide in the property and township police said Saturday that investigators determined that “a faulty flue and exhaust pipe on a gas heating system caused the carbon monoxide leak.” Two medics were taken to a hospital for carbon monoxide exposure and a police officer was treated at the scene.

Haddon's daughter, Ryan, said in a social media post that her mother was “everyone’s greatest champion. An inspiration to many.”

“A pure heart. A rich inner life. Touching so many lives. A life well lived. Rest in Light, Mom,” she said.

Dayle Haddon's early modelling career

Haddon was born in Toronto in 1948 and began modelling as a teenager to pay for ballet classes. According to her website, she began her career with the Canadian ballet company Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, sometime in the 60s. Modelling soon followed.

As a model, Haddon appeared on the covers of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Esquire in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She also appeared in about two dozen films from the 1970s to 1990s, according to IMDb.com, including 1994’s “Bullets Over Broadway,” starring John Cusack.

How Dayle Haddon revolutionised the industry

Haddon left modelling after giving birth to her daughter, Ryan, in the mid-1970s but then had to reenter the workforce after her husband's 1991 death. This time, she found the modelling industry far less friendly: “They said to me, ‘At 38, you’re not viable,’” Haddon told The New York Times in 2003.

Working a menial job at an advertising agency, Haddon began reaching out to cosmetic companies, telling them there was a growing market to sell beauty products to ageing baby boomers. She eventually landed a contract with Clairol, followed by Estée Lauder and then L’Oreal, for which she promoted the company's anti-ageing products for over a decade. She also hosted beauty segments for CBS’s The Early Show. "I kept modeling, but in a different way," she told The Times, “I became a spokesperson for my age.”

In 2008, Haddon founded WomenOne, an organization aimed at advancing educational opportunities for girls and women in marginalized communities, including Rwanda, Haiti and Jordan.'

(With AP inputs)