Toukie Smith, ‘227’ Actress and Model Who Shared Twins With Robert De Niro, Dies at 74

Toukie Smith, a top fashion model of the 1970s who later played Eva Rawley on the NBC sitcom "227," has died. She was 74. Smith died on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in a New York hospital after a "long, courageous battle" with multiple sclerosis, according to an announcement from her twins, Airyn and Julian, whom she shared with her former partner, actor Robert De Niro, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Monday.

"Toukie was a force of nature," Airyn and Julian said in their statement. "She left an indelible mark on our hearts and on everyone lucky enough to know her." The twins also said their mother "shared in a remarkable family legacy that helped shape American fashion and culture" and that "her beauty, grace and unmistakable presence helped pave the way for generations of Black models and designers in fashion."

Airyn De Niro mourned her mother on social media with a throwback photo of the two of them and the caption "I’ll always love you, Mom," USA Today reported. She also shared the post on her Instagram Story with the words "Rest in peace, Mom." USA Today said it had reached out to representatives for Robert De Niro for comment.

From Philadelphia to the runway

Smith was born Doris Smith in Philadelphia on Sept. 25, 1952. She explained the origin of her nickname to the Los Angeles Times in 1990, saying 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," and adding, "I’ve always had lots of energy," according to the Los Angeles Times.

She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and began modeling in 1972. Over her career she worked with designers including Hubert de Givenchy, Thierry Mugler, Issey Miyake and Patrick Kelly, as well as illustrators Antonio Lopez and Alvaro and photographers Jean-Paul Goude and Guy Bourdin, The Hollywood Reporter said. She appeared in a photo campaign for Yves Saint Laurent and in magazines including Vogue, Ebony, Cosmopolitan, Redbook and Seventeen, and Bloomingdale’s named her its model of the year in 1978.

Smith got her start modeling for her brother, the designer Willi Smith, whose label WilliWear pioneered a whimsical yet accessible style he called "street couture," the Los Angeles Times reported. "Willi always had fun with fashion," she once said of her brother. "He had a special energy and a love of keeping clothes from being too serious. He also totally designed for the masses." Willi Smith died in 1987 at age 39 of complications from AIDS.

A turn to acting

Smith stepped away from modeling in the early 1980s and moved into acting. Her first screen credits included a recurring role on NBC’s "Miami Vice," where she played Angie, the assistant to pop singer Caitlin Davies, portrayed by Sheena Easton, in three episodes of the show’s fourth season in 1987 and 1988, Deadline reported. She went on to appear in the 1988 feature "Me and Him."

Her best-known role came on "227," the Marla Gibbs-led NBC sitcom that aired from 1985 to 1990 and was noted for its portrayal of a middle-class Black family, the Jenkinses, according to the Los Angeles Times. Smith first appeared late in the show’s fourth season and was promoted to series regular for the final season in 1989-90, Deadline reported. Her character, Eva Rawley, was an artist who moves into the 227 Lexington Place building, becomes its manager and later leaves the job to work at an art gallery. She appeared in about two dozen episodes.

After "227" ended, Smith had roles in films including "Talkin’ Dirty After Dark" (1991), "I Like It Like That" (1994), and "Joe’s Apartment" and "The Preacher’s Wife," both released in 1996, according to The Hollywood Reporter and the Los Angeles Times. Deadline also listed the comedy "Goosed" among her 1990s credits.

Her interests extended to food. The Los Angeles Times reported that she briefly ran a catering business, Toukie’s Taste, which provided the food for an anniversary celebration for Sean Penn and Madonna. In the 1990s she also ran an eponymous restaurant, Toukie’s, on West Houston Street in New York, which gave part of its proceeds to the Smith Family Foundation.

Family

Smith and De Niro were partners from 1988 to 1996. Their twins were conceived through in vitro fertilization and delivered by a surrogate in 1995, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Us Weekly, which reported that Airyn and Julian are 31. De Niro, 83, has five other children with three other women, The Hollywood Reporter noted.

Smith is survived by her children, her brother Norman Smith-Harllee and her nephew Eliazar Smith-Harllee, according to Deadline and the Los Angeles Times.

Sources

• The Hollywood Reporter — Mike Barnes, Toukie Smith Dead: Model, ‘227’ Actress Was 74 (Nov. 9, 2026)
• Deadline — Erik Pedersen, Toukie Smith Dead: ‘227’ Actor & Former Partner Of Robert De Niro Was 74 (Nov. 9, 2026)
• Los Angeles Times — Tracy Brown, Toukie Smith dead: Model, ‘227’ actor dies at 74 (Nov. 9, 2026)
• USA Today — Liza Esquibias, Toukie Smith, ‘227’ actress and Robert De Niro’s former partner, dies at 74 (Nov. 9, 2026)
• Us Weekly — Tufayel Ahmed, Robert De Niro’s Ex-Girlfriend Toukie Smith Dead at 74 (Nov. 10, 2026)