Before ‘227,’ Toukie Smith made her mark modeling for Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent—a fashion legacy that went far beyond her Hollywood ties.
ByBernadette Giacomazzo
<a href="https://comicvibe.com/glorybound-codes-for-november-2026/” title=”GloryBound codes for November 2026″>November 9, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Toukie Smith died at 74 on November 4 after a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis, with sons Airyn and Julian—whom she shared with Robert De Niro—announcing her death.
- Smith modeled for Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent before playing Eva Rawley on 227 and appearing in films including The Preacher’s Wife.
- The article places her death four months after that of fellow 227 star Hal Williams, who played Lester Jenkins.
The 227 family is mourning another loss. Toukie Smith, the supermodel-turned-actress who starred on the beloved NBC sitcom and shared twin sons with Robert De Niro, has died at 74 following a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis.
Her death comes just months after the passing of fellow 227 star Hal Williams, making 2026 an especially difficult year for fans of the groundbreaking comedy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Smith died on Wednesday, November 4, at a New York hospital, according to an announcement from her sons, Airyn and Julian, who described their mother’s illness as a “long, courageous battle.” The twins, whom Smith shared with De Niro during their relationship from 1988 to 1996, confirmed her passing after years of living with the disease.
Smith’s death marks the loss of a woman whose career stretched from the world’s biggest fashion houses to one of television’s most recognizable Black sitcoms.
Before Hollywood came calling, Smith was already a major name in fashion. Born Doris Smith in Philadelphia in 1952, she began modeling in 1972 and went on to work with designers including Hubert de Givenchy, Thierry Mugler, Issey Miyake, Patrick Kelly, and Yves Saint Laurent.
She appeared in Vogue, Ebony, Cosmopolitan, and Seventeen, and Bloomingdale’s named her Model of the Year in 1978.
Her older brother, Willi Smith, was also a fashion pioneer whose WilliWear label helped redefine American streetwear before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1987 at just 39.
Even her nickname reflected her personality. Smith said in 1990 that her grandmother started calling her Toukie after hearing “a children’s record about a little red fire engine with lots of energy.”
She added, “I’ve always had lots of energy.”
Her character, an artist who moved into the Lexington Place apartment building, joined a cast led by Marla Gibbs, Regina King, Jackée Harry, and Williams. Smith remained on the series through its 1990 finale.
Her career didn’t stop there. Smith appeared in Talkin’ Dirty After Dark, I Like It Like That, Joe’s Apartment, and The Preacher’s Wife, while also opening a namesake restaurant in New York City during the 1990s.
Her relationship with De Niro brought additional attention to her personal life, but Smith had already established herself as a successful model and actress long before the two became a couple. Their sons were conceived through in vitro fertilization and born
Smith died four months after Williams, who played Lester Jenkins on 227, died at 91.
Following his passing, Gibbs remembered him as “a generous man who freely gave his time, his talent, and his heart to the community.”
