On her fundraising page, she said she was doing the 21-mile endurance test to raise money for Rainbows Hospice in Loughborough.
Ms Taylor s sister said on Facebook she had "suddenly collapsed" in the water and was treated in a support boat. She said her sister was then airlifted to hospital, where she died.
Ms Taylor was swimming under the guidance of the
Channel Swimming Association - which officially authorises crossing attempts - when she got into difficulty near the French coast at about 17:30 BST.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Boulogne on 14 July. "We are in touch with the family and are providing consular assistance."
Ms Taylor s neighbour David Kitto said: "I m just gobsmacked. She was a truly lovely girl and this is an absolute tragedy.
"She was a confident person anyway. She had a real presence about her. She was not a shrinking violet but nor was she hogging the front pages all the time.
"She was a very good swimmer; you used to see her going up and down in the fast lane at the pool and all the staff there knew her and got to know what she was doing." She had raised more than £3,000 in sponsorship for the 21-mile swim across the English Channel, which is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
Rainbows Hospice opened in 1994 and is dedicated to children and young people. Its chief executive Geoff Ellis said: "Susan was a wonderful woman who would do anything for anybody. She has been a much loved ambassador at Rainbows for over two years, helping out at events and tirelessly fundraising for us.
"She was more than an ambassador; she was part of the Rainbows family." Ms Taylor s sister asked well wishers to donate to her online fundraising page.
Irish swimmer Paraic Casey, 45, died while attempting to swim the Channel in July 2012.
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