Toukie Smith’s Children Honor Their Mother After Her Death at 74
Airyn and Julian Remember Her Life in Fashion, Television and at Home
Toukie Smith, the model and actress known for her role on 227, died on November 4 at a New York hospital. She was 74. Her twins, Airyn and Julian, whom she shared with Robert De Niro, announced her death and paid tribute to the woman they knew as their mother.
The twins disclosed that Smith had lived with multiple sclerosis, describing her experience with the illness as a “long, courageous battle.” They also remembered her as a “force of nature,” a phrase that conveyed something about her presence in their lives. Their tribute recognized a career that helped open doors for Black models and designers and recalled the warmth they associated with her at home.
Airyn also offered a personal farewell in a few words of her own. Recalling her childhood with Smith, she wrote, “I’ll always love you, Mom.” The shared statement described the breadth of Smith’s life. Airyn’s message spoke directly to her mother.
Her Children Shared a Part of Her Life She Had Kept Private
Smith had largely kept her family life away from public attention. Her work as a model and actress made her recognizable, and the twins’ father was also a familiar public figure. Airyn and Julian nevertheless grew up away from the spotlight, with much of their life with their mother kept within the family.
The announcement offered a rare glimpse into that private life by acknowledging Smith’s experience with multiple sclerosis. The twins’ description emphasized the length of her struggle and the courage they associated with how she faced it. The illness was part of the life they were remembering, alongside her influence in fashion and her place in their family.
The statement said Smith died at a hospital in New York. Her children shared her age and the date of her death while keeping the details of her illness limited. Their words gave readers a sense of what she had lived through without turning their farewell into a chronology of her health.
The family’s decision to remember Smith publicly also gave Airyn and Julian a chance to describe her in their own words. The qualities they chose to highlight came from knowing her as a parent, a relationship that had largely existed outside the public attention surrounding Smith and De Niro.
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A Career That Helped Open Doors in Fashion
Smith was known for her work as a model as well as for her television career. In remembering her years in fashion, her children pointed to the opportunities her work helped create for Black models and designers. Their tribute placed that contribution alongside the recognition she earned in her own career.
Modeling was also part of a broader connection to American fashion within Smith’s family. Her brother was the late designer Willi Smith. The siblings worked in different roles, with Toukie known for her modeling and Willi for his designs, and both were part of a family whose creative work helped shape American fashion.
That family connection adds context to the twins’ emphasis on the doors their mother helped open. Their remembrance included both the people who worked in front of audiences and the designers whose work those audiences came to see. By mentioning both groups, the twins described an influence that extended beyond Smith’s own visibility as a model.
The tribute also gave readers a way to understand why her years in fashion mattered to her children. Airyn and Julian remembered those years as part of what their mother left behind. Their account included the public work people could recognize and the effect they believed that work had on others pursuing careers in the same field.
Television Brought Smith to Another Audience
For television viewers, Smith was familiar through her work on 227. Acting gave her another public role alongside modeling. The two careers meant that audiences could know her through different parts of her working life, even as the family she was raising remained largely out of public view.
Her association with 227 and her connection to De Niro are recognizable details in the story of her life. The twins’ announcement brought attention back to Smith herself. They spoke of the character they saw in her, the illness she faced privately and the professional contribution they wanted people to remember.
There was also a difference in how the twins and the public came to know her. A viewer might think first of a television role, while someone familiar with fashion might remember her as a model or know of her connection to Willi Smith. Airyn and Julian’s tribute came from years spent with her as their mother. Their remembrance brought those parts of her life together without giving each one the same weight.
Airyn’s Farewell Returned to a Childhood Memory
Airyn’s own message brought the remembrance back to childhood. Its wording was direct and personal, addressing Smith as Mom. In the context of a statement that also recognized her mother’s career and experience with illness, those few words conveyed the closeness that Airyn wanted to express.
The childhood connection also carried particular meaning because Smith had kept the twins’ upbringing largely private. Public audiences knew her through her professional work, while Airyn’s farewell drew on the part of her life the family had protected. She shared enough to show where the message came from and left the rest of the memory with her mother.
Julian and Airyn’s joint tribute had a broader purpose. It announced their loss, recognized the strength they saw in Smith and acknowledged her influence in fashion. Airyn’s individual farewell could be simpler because it was written to one person. The two messages gave the family room to speak about what Smith meant to others and what her death meant to them.
The Person at the Center of the Tribute
Smith’s children had several parts of her life to consider when they announced her death. Her time in fashion linked her to work that helped create space for Black models and designers. Her role on 227 brought her to television audiences. Her experience with multiple sclerosis belonged to the years she had largely kept private.
Describing their mother as a “force of nature” allowed the twins to express a quality that a list of career milestones could only suggest. The phrase sat alongside their acknowledgment of her illness and gave the remembrance a sense of the person they had in mind. They had known her through ordinary family life as well as through the achievements that drew public attention.
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For those who remember Smith from fashion or television, the announcement offered a fuller view of the life she led beyond her work. For Airyn and Julian, the tribute was a chance to speak about the woman who raised them and to express what they would carry forward from their time with her. Airyn put that feeling into the few words she addressed to her mother.