Robert De Niro’s ex-partner and ‘227’ actress Toukie Smith dies at 74
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Robert De Niro’s ex-partner, model and actress Toukie Smith (born Doris A. Smith), best known for her work in the NBC sitcom ‘227,’ passed away on November 4, 2026, at the age of 74.
The news of her death was confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter by her twin children, Julian and Airyn, whom she shares with ex-partner De Niro. Smith reportedly fought a “long, courageous battle” with multiple sclerosis and breathed her last at a New York City hospital.
Toukie Smith’s children reflect on mom’s fashion legacy
In their statement, Julian and Airyn acknowledged their mother’s contribution to the fashion industry. They said that Smith “shared in a remarkable family legacy that helped shape American fashion and culture” and mentioned that “her beauty, grace and unmistakable presence helped pave the way for generations of Black models and designers in fashion.”
“Toukie was a force of nature,” the twins further mentioned. “She left an indelible mark on our hearts and on everyone lucky enough to know her,” they added.
Before stepping into acting, Smith was a famed fashion model. She often modeled for her brother, fashion designer Willi Smith, before he died in 1987 at age 39 from pneumonia and a battle with AIDS.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Smith attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and started her modeling career in 1972. She took part in a photo campaign for Yves St. Laurent, eventually appearing in magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Redbook and Ebony.
In addition to her brother’s line, she also worked with high-fashion brands such as Chanel, Versace, Givenchy, Norma Kamali, Thierry Mugler, Patrick Kelly and modeled for photographers Jean-Paul Goude and Guy Bourdin, as well as illustrators Alvaro and Antonio Lopez, among many others. Smith was named Bloomingdale’s model of the year in 1978.
Toukie Smith appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of ‘227’
After leaving the modeling industry in the 1980s, Smith began her acting career with ‘Miami Vice’ season four, appearing on three episodes as pop singer Caitlin Davies (Sheena Easton)’s assistant and wife of Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson).
Smith was best known for playing the role of Eva Rawley in the fourth and fifth seasons of ‘227.’ She also appeared in films like ‘Talkin’ Dirty After Dark’ (1991), ‘I Like It Like That’ (1994), ‘Joe’s Apartment’ (1996) and ‘The Preacher’s Wife’ (1996).
Robert De Niro and Toukie Smith started dating in 1988
Smith and De Niro were in a relationship for nearly eight years. The duo started dating in 1988 and stayed together until 1996, but largely kept their romance away from the spotlight. “What’s great about a private life is it’s private,” Smith once told the Los Angeles Times.
The pair welcomed their twin children, Airyn and Julian, via in-vitro fertilization and surrogacy in 1995 before calling it quits the following year. De Niro also shares five other children with different partners.
