Charlotte Dawson's family say her battle against depression was just too hard as mental health advocates call for social media operators to better respond to bullying attacks on vulnerable users.
New Zealand-born Dawson, 47, was found dead in her apartment at Woolloomooloo in Sydney on Saturday after she took her own life.
The former model had suffered depression and in 2012 was hospitalised following a bombardment of vicious Twitter messages.
Dawson's sister Vicky, who lives in New Zealand, said her beautiful sister would be deeply missed.
"She was a kind, loving and generous person and worked tirelessly for the causes she believed in," she said on Sunday.
"She fought for the underdog in many ways and won, but the most important battle, her struggle with depression, she couldn't win."
The family of the former Australia's Next Top Model judge are expected to arrive in Sydney on Monday, with various media reporting that a memorial service is likely.
BeyondBlue CEO Kate Carnell said relentless online abuse can exacerbate mental health concerns.
"With depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts - it's always a mixture of things," she told AAP.
"I don't think we can say that it was the cyber-bullying ... but putting significant extra stress on her certainly would have made things worse."
While Facebook has begun to actively protect users from bullying, Twitter and Instagram had some work to do to, she added.
"They've got to find better ways to be able to respond really quickly to reports of this sort of bullying," she said of the popular micro-blogging and image-sharing services.
After Dawson's death was announced one Twitter user wrote: "Trolls that abused & tormented @MsCharlotteD, you have blood on your hands & YOU are responsible for her death- shame on you"
The government is considering reforms to protect children from online abuse including the creation of a children's e-safety commissioner, new laws to quickly remove bullying material from large social media sites and a new national cyber-bullying offence.
But Ms Carnell and former Family Court chief justice Alastair Nicholson want laws that protect everyone.
"I don't think we can stop at children," he told AAP.
"There's a bit of the old concept that, `Oh yes, we were all bullied at school, and we got over it' ...
"This is a much more serious problem than we've ever accepted."
Public submissions to the government's proposals close in March.
A bill is expected to be before parliament by the end of the year.
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or follow @LifelineAust @OntheLineAus @kidshelp @beyondblue @headspace_aus @ReachOut_AUS on Twitter.
