‘Inspirational’ supermodel and actress Dayle Haddon found dead from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning
Former supermodel and actress Dayle Haddon has died aged 76 from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a property in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Emergency services responded to a 911 call at 6.30am on Friday, December 27 at a detached in-law suite in Solebury Township.
The property, owned by Haddon’s daughter Ryan and son-in-law Marc Blucas, became the scene of a tragic accident believed to have involved a faulty heating system.
Bucks County Deputy Coroner Eliot Gross confirmed Haddon’s identity after she was discovered in a second-floor bedroom.
Toxicology reports are being conducted to determine the official cause of death, though investigators detected high levels of carbon monoxide at the scene.
The Canadian-born model and actress was known for her appearances in major fashion magazines and films from the 1970s onwards.
Haddon graced the covers of prestigious magazines including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle and Esquire – notably appearing on the 1973 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Her acting career included roles in “The World’s Greatest Athlete” (1973) and “North Dallas Forty” (1979), as well as the 1994 film “Bullets Over Broadway”.
After leaving modelling to raise her daughter Ryan in the mid-1970s, Haddon was forced to return to work following her husband’s death in 1991.
At age 38, she faced industry resistance but pioneered a new path, securing contracts with major beauty brands including Clairol, Estée Lauder and L’Oréal.
“They said to me, ‘At 38, you’re not viable’,” Haddon told The New York Times in 2003. “I kept modelling, but in a different way. I became a spokesperson for my age.”
In a lengthy and moving social media tribute, Haddon’s daughter Ryan described her mother as “everyone’s greatest champion” and “an inspiration to many”.
“She was a woman in her power, yet soft and attentive to all. Deeply creative and curious, gifted with beauty inside and out,” Ryan wrote on Instagram.
“A pure heart. A rich inner life. Touching so many lives. A life well lived. Rest in Light, Mom,” she added.
The fatal scene was first discovered when Walter J. Blucas, 76, was found unconscious on the first floor and rushed to Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in critical condition.
Blucas is the father of Haddon’s son-in-law and a former journalist. The property where the incident occurred was a detached in-law suite at the Blucas family home.
Police investigators determined that “a faulty flue and exhaust pipe on a gas heating system caused the carbon monoxide leak”.
The incident also affected emergency at the scene, with two medics being taken to hospital and a police officer treated for exposure to the dangerous gas.
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Beyond her modelling career, Haddon founded WomenOne in 2008, an organisation dedicated to advancing educational opportunities for girls and women in marginalised communities.
Her humanitarian work through WomenOne reached communities in Rwanda, Haiti and Jordan.
The former model also served as a UNICEF ambassador and authored “Ageless Beauty: A Woman’s Guide to Lifelong Beauty and Well-Being”.