Toukie Smith, 1952 – 2026

Actress and model Toukie Smith, 74, died from multiple sclerosis on Nov. 4. The sister of fashion designer Willi Smith (who died in 1987), she started her career as a model in the early ‘70s, working for her brother as well as for Versace, Geoffrey Beene, Yves St. Laurent, Issey Miyake, Norma Kamali, and Thierry Mugler. She played artist-in-residence Eva Rawley in the sitcom 227, also appearing in Miami Vice, Me and Him, Talkin’ Dirty After Dark, I Like It Like That, Joe’s Apartment, The Preacher’s Wife, and Goosed. Though she never married, Smith was the partner of Robert De Niro from 1988-96, and the two had a son and a daughter. She explained her name to the L.A. Times: “It was a nickname my grandmother gave me that came from a children’s record about a little red fire engine with lots of energy. I’ve always had lots of energy.” Of her brother, she said, “Willi always had fun with fashion. He had a special energy and a love of keeping clothes from being too serious. He also totally designed for the masses.”