Overview
- Her twin children announced that Toukie Smith died in a New York hospital after a long, courageous battle with multiple sclerosis.
- Smith began modeling after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology and rose to prominence in the 1970s with work for Vogue, Ebony, Cosmopolitan and major designers.
- She moved into acting with recurring television roles including the NBC sitcom 227 and a turn on Miami Vice, and she appeared in films such as Talkin’ Dirty After Dark and The Preacher’s Wife.
- Smith had a long public relationship with Robert De Niro that produced twins born by surrogate in 1995, a detail that has shaped much of the public interest in her life.
- Public tributes have highlighted her role as a visible Black model, her family ties to designer brother Willi Smith, and her cultural impact across fashion and entertainment.