{"id":958699,"date":"2026-11-09T23:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T23:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/958699\/"},"modified":"2026-11-09T23:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T23:34:10","slug":"toukie-smith-robert-de-niros-ex-mourned-by-children-after-ms-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/958699\/","title":{"rendered":"Toukie Smith: Robert De Niro\u2019s ex mourned by children after MS death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Model and actress Toukie Smith has died at the age of 74 following a long battle with multiple sclerosis.<\/p>\n<p>Smith, who is known for her role on the NBC sitcom 227, passed away on November 4 in a New York hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Be the first to know when news breaks. <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/wpmth9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Download our new app<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Her adult children, Airyn and Julian De Niro \u2013 who she shared with her former partner Robert De Niro \u2013 confirmed the sad news with <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/toukie-smith-227-model-robert-de-niro-1236750848\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> on Monday, saying she died following a \u201clong, courageous battle\u201d with the neurological disorder.<\/p>\n<p>Airyn, 31, also <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Dfh2CyDNmoa\/?__d=1%2B\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">mourned the loss on social media<\/a> with a throwback photo of herself and her mother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll always love you, Mom,\u201d she captioned the post. <\/p>\n<p>She shared the photo on her Instagram Story as well, writing, \u201cRest in peace, Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith was born Doris Smith but she later took on Toukie Smith as her stage name \u2013 a moniker that was inspired by her grandmother. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a nickname my grandmother gave me that came from a children\u2019s record about a little red fire engine with lots of energy,\u201d she told the Los Angeles Times in a 1990 interview. \u201cI\u2019ve always had lots of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Smith began modelling in 1972 for magazines such as Vogue and lifestyle title Ebony.<\/p>\n<p>She went on to model for the likes of Hubert de Givenchy, Thierry Mugler and Issey Miyake, and was named Bloomingdale\u2019s model of the year in 1978.<\/p>\n<p>Smith also modelled for her fashion designer brother Willi Smith, who died in 1987 at age 39 of complications from AIDS.<\/p>\n<p>By the late 80s, Smith shifted her focus to acting, scoring a recurring role on Miami Vice as Angie, who was the assistant of Sheena Easton\u2019s pop singer character Caitlin Davies. Caitlin was the wife of Don Johnson\u2019s lead character, Sonny Crockett.<\/p>\n<p>In 1989, she joined the cast of the sitcom 227 before appearing in a string of 90s film\u2019s, including Talkin\u2019 Dirty After Dark, I Like It Like That and The Preacher\u2019s Wife.<\/p>\n<p>Smith met De Niro in 1988 at the height of her acting career \u2013 the same year he split from actress Diahnne Abbott after 12 years of marriage. <\/p>\n<p>As per <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/1994\/09\/19\/toukie-smith-restaurant-hilton-als\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The New Yorker<\/a>, Smith and De Niro\u2019s relationship was on-and-off, with the two said to split in 1994 before getting back together and welcoming their twins in October 1995 via surrogate. <\/p>\n<p>The couple kept their relationship private and rarely spoke about it in interviews.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s great about a private life is it\u2019s private,\u201d Smith previously told the Los Angeles Times. <\/p>\n<p>De Niro, now 83, has seven children in total from four different relationships, with the actor welcoming his youngest child in 2023, aged 79. <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Model and actress Toukie Smith has died at the age of 74 following a long battle with 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