Model and actress Toukie Smith died on November 4, reportedly due to complications of multiple sclerosis, at the age of 74.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that impacts the nervous system, including the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord. In short, it blocks electrical impulses between the brain and the rest of the body. Toukie Smith reportedly struggled with this ailment for an extended period.
A successful actress with film and television appearances, she is also known for her eight-year relationship with superstar actor Robert De Niro. The couple had twins, Aaron “Airyn” Kendrick De Niro and Julian De Niro, on October 20, 1995, via in vitro fertilization. Her children announced her demise at an unnamed hospital in New York City.
“Toukie was a force of nature. She left an indelible mark on our hearts and on everyone lucky enough to know her,” they said in a joint statement.
Born on Sept. 25, 1952, as Doris A. Smith to a Philadelphia family of four siblings, including the fashion designer Willi Smith, she adopted the family nickname “Toukie” in childhood. Attending New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology led to success as a runway model, and she was named Bloomingdale’s model of the year in 1978.
She solidified this success through collaborations with top-flight designers like Hubert de Givenchy, Thierry Mugler, Issey Miyake, and Patrick Kelly, and her image graced the pages of periodicals such as Ebony, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and Vogue.
Starting in a supporting role in the groundbreaking police crime drama Miami Vice in 1987, she carved out a niche as a character actress in film and television over the next 15 years. Her IMDb credits included “I Like It Like That,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” and the television series “227.”
“I thought modeling was rough with rejection. Huh! Welcome to the real world of acting!” she said of her transition between the two disciplines.
Never content to be boxed in by social convention, she opened the short-lived but highly influential Greenwich Village restaurant Toukie’s, on West Houston Street in 1994. It quickly became a ’90s NYC cultural gathering place, and as its proprietor called it, her “…home away from home.”
”I opened this place because big parties are one thing, but now it’s time for us to come together, to connect,” she explained.
Artistic talent ran through Toukie Smith’s family, as shown by her brother Willi’s success as a pioneering Black designer in street fashion. He started by designing clothing for cinema icon Elizabeth Taylor and eventually launched the label WilliWear Ltd. in 1976.
Conceived as a radical departure from the elitist runway aesthetic, he drew inspiration from the 1970s street-level South Bronx and Harlem of his youth. Willi Smith’s life was cut short at the age of 39 in 1987 by the AIDS virus that ravaged the country at the end of the century.
His legacy continues past the millennium; however, Toukie and Willi Smith were both trailblazers who carved a path for creators of color as cultural influencers who crossed ethnic and social boundaries. Among those who paid tribute to her after her passing was actor Isaiah Washington, who posted an honorarium on Instagram.
“RIP Toukie Smith. Your great advice for me to always trust my gut and know when to say ‘no’ and walk away with your head held high still serves me to this day,” said Isaiah Washington.
