Toukie Smith, the model and actress known for her role on the NBC sitcom 227, died Nov. 4 in New York. She was 74.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Smith’s twin sons, Airyn and Julian, announced that she died in a hospital following a yearslong battle with multiple sclerosis.
Smith joined the cast of 227 in 1989 as Eva Rawley and remained with the popular sitcom through its final season. She appeared alongside Marla Gibbs, Regina King and Jackée Harry.
Born Doris Smith in Philadelphia, Smith launched her modeling career in the early 1970s and went on to work with some of fashion’s most celebrated designers, including Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Issey Miyake and Patrick Kelly. Her work appeared in publications including Ebony, Vogue, Seventeen and Cosmopolitan. Bloomingdale’s named her Model of the Year in 1978.
Smith was also the sister of late fashion pioneer Willi Smith, founder of the influential WilliWear label. She was the mother of twins Airyn and Julian, whose father is Robert De Niro. The couple were in a relationship from 1988 to 1996.
In a statement shared following her death, her sons remembered her as “a force of nature” whose impact extended far beyond the worlds of fashion and entertainment.