Toukie Smith, a prominent model of the 1970s, actress, and restaurateur, has died at the age of 74. Her twins, Airyn and Julian Henry De Niro, announced her passing, stating she died in a New York City hospital after a prolonged battle with multiple sclerosis.
Smith shared her children with actor Robert De Niro, whom she dated intermittently from 1988 to 1996. Their twins were born in October 1995, conceived via in vitro fertilization and delivered by a surrogate. Airyn, who is transgender, publicly came out as a woman in 2025 with the support of her parents.
Born Doris Smith in Philadelphia on September 25, 1952, she adopted the nickname Toukie, inspired by a children's record about an energetic fire engine. She began her career in fashion, gracing the pages of magazines such as Vogue, Seventeen, Ebony, Cosmopolitan, and Redbook. She was declared Model of the Year by Bloomingdale's in 1978 and walked for designers including Versace, Yves St. Laurent, and Chanel.
Smith later transitioned to acting, appearing in the crime series Miami Vice from 1987 to 1988 as Angie and playing building manager Eva Rawley in the sitcom 227 from 1989 to 1990. Her film credits include Talkin' Dirty After Dark, I Like it Like That, and The Preacher's Wife. She emphasized her identity as an actress first, telling the New York Times in 1992 that the acting world presented its own set of challenges after her modeling career.
Following her acting career, Smith opened a Southern fine dining restaurant called Toukie's in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood in 1994. The establishment, which also housed her catering business Toukie's Taste, became a celebrity hotspot before closing in 1998. Friends described her as driven by the joy of hosting and creating community.
Smith's brother, fashion designer Willi Smith, died of AIDS at age 37 in 1987. She was also known for her distinctive, often vibrantly colored hair and her full-figured physique, which she embraced, telling the Los Angeles Times in 1990, "I'm round, Honey. I'm not angular."