Toukie Smith, who played Eva Rawley on the NBC sitcom 227, recurred on Miami Vice, and built a prominent career as a 1970s runway model before transitioning to acting, has died. She was 74.
Her twins, Airyn and Julian, whom she shared with former partner Robert De Niro, confirmed she died November 4 in a New York hospital after what they described as a “long, courageous battle” with multiple sclerosis. The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter on November 9, accounting for the gap between her death and the public announcement. “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.” According to TheGrio, Smith had been planning an AIDS tribute to her late brother at the time of her death.
Born Doris A. Smith on September 25, 1952, in Philadelphia, she said in a 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Times that her grandmother gave her the nickname “Toukie” after a children’s record about an energetic little fire engine. “I’ve always had lots of energy,” she said.
Smith began modeling in 1972 after attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, going on to walk and pose for major fashion houses throughout the 1970s, including Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Thierry Mugler, Issey Miyake, Chanel, Versace, Norma Kamali, and Patrick Kelly, appearing in Vogue, Ebony, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and Seventeen. Bloomingdale’s named her its model of the year in 1978, and she became the second African American model to have a mannequin designed in her likeness. She also modeled for her brother, designer Willi Smith, founder of the label WilliWear. Willi Smith died of pneumonia in April 1987 at age 39 following a buying trip to India; it was confirmed roughly ten days later that his death was AIDS-related, a loss Toukie spoke about publicly at a time when AIDS carried significant stigma.
Smith’s screen career began with a recurring role on Miami Vice in 1987 and 1988, playing Angie, assistant to Sheena Easton’s character. She joined 227 as a guest in a 1989 episode before being promoted to series regular for its final season, appearing in roughly two dozen episodes as Eva Rawley, an artist who becomes manager of the Lexington Place building before eventually leaving to work at an art gallery. Her film credits include Talkin’ Dirty After Dark opposite Martin Lawrence and John Witherspoon, I Like It Like That, Joe’s Apartment, and The Preacher’s Wife alongside Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Courtney B. Vance. She later ran a West Village restaurant called Toukie’s, as well as a catering business, Toukie’s Taste, which once catered an anniversary celebration for Sean Penn and Madonna.
Smith and De Niro were partners from 1988 to 1996. Their twins were conceived through in vitro fertilization and delivered by surrogate in 1995. She is survived by her children, her brother Norman Smith-Harllee, and her nephew Eliazar Smith-Harllee.