Toukie Smith, a prominent runway model and actress best known for playing Eva Rawley on NBC's 227, has died at 74.
Smith died Wednesday (November 4) at a New York hospital following a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis, her twin children, Airyn and Julian De Niro, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. The family announced her death Monday (November 9).
“Toukie was a force of nature,” her children said in a statement. “She left an indelible mark on our hearts and on everyone lucky enough to know her.”
Smith shared her twins with actor Robert De Niro, whom she dated from 1988 to 1996. The former couple welcomed their children in 1995 through a surrogate, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Born Doris Smith in Philadelphia in 1952, Smith studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology before entering the modeling industry in 1972. According to the Los Angeles Times, she initially modeled for her older brother, fashion designer Willi Smith, whose WilliWear label helped popularize accessible, contemporary fashion.
She went on to work with designers including Thierry Mugler, Issey Miyake and Hubert de Givenchy.
Smith began pursuing acting in the late 1980s, appearing in NBC's Miami Vice before joining 227 in 1989. She portrayed Eva Rawley, an artist who moves into the apartment building at the center of the sitcom, which starred Marla Gibbs. The series concluded in 1990.
Smith also appeared in several films, including Talkin' Dirty After Dark, I Like It Like That, Joe's Apartment and the 1996 holiday romantic comedy, The Preacher's Wife, starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston.
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