Toukie Smith is an American model and actress popularly known for the character she played in the successful NBC comedy series 227, which was broadcast from 1989-90. Her character, Eva Rawley, was so popular that in such a short time she gained thousands of fans who followed her work for years and kept up with everything she did. She is also known for her roles, which she portrayed in large pictures. Some of her most notable film appearances include Me and Him, I Like It Like That, Goosed, Joe’s Apartment, Talkin’ Dirty After Dark, and The Preacher’s Wife.
The actress is also an activist and is not afraid to use her platform to promote and raise awareness of social issues. After her brother, millionaire fashion designer Willi Smith died in 1987 from AIDS, she dedicated her time to educating people about the terrible disease, although most people were still ashamed to even mention it out loud. Although she has stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, the former model is still revered in the industry.
Who Is Toukie Smith?
Born as Doris A. Smith on April 25, 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Toukie had a somewhat normal childhood, although her family was by no means rich.
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It is known that Toukie Smith attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She began her career as a model in the 1970s, strutting on the catwalk and appearing in ads for major fashion brands such as Versace, Patrick Kelly, Chanel, Issey Miyake, Thierry Miller, Geoffrey Beene, and Norma Kamali. She has also been successful in the print sector, appearing in photo campaigns for Yves St. Laurent and on the front pages and pages of ELLE, Vogue, Seventeen, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, and Ebony.
In 1978, she was named Model of the Year by Bloomingdale and designed a mannequin based on her model. She was the first African-American model to achieve the latter achievement. Her professional name Toukie was inspired by her grandmother, who liked to sing songs about fire trucks when she was with her.
By the early 1990s, Toukie Smith had given up the limelight and was quite shy of appearing in the media unless absolutely necessary. Now that she had actively withdrawn from Hollywood and her modeling career, the gorgeous actress opened a restaurant chain in New York called Toukie’s Restaurant. She also became a full-time employee of her catering supply business Toukie’s Sweets. Both businesses seem to be doing very well and show no signs of packing up.
Thanks to her successful acting and modeling activities and numerous businesses, Toukie has managed to create considerable wealth for herself. Toukie Smith’s net worth is currently estimated at $3 million.
Is She Robert De Niro’s Ex-Wife?
Toukie has never been married and, as far as we know, remains unmarried. However, she has had several fulfilling relationships, some of them with established Hollywood celebrities such as the legendary Robert De Niro.
The two began dating in 1988 and were together for a long time until their separation in 1996. While they were together, Toukie suffered a miscarriage in 1988 that led to the loss of her first child. This was a very difficult moment for the couple, but they managed to survive it and their love grew stronger over the years.
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Robert and Toukie Smith were blessed with twin boys in 1995. The children were conceived through in vitro fertilization and were given birth by a surrogate mother. The boys are Julian Henry De Niro and Aaron Kendrick De Niro. The children became the center of their lives, and they continued to be co-parents after their separation. The boys were kept out of the spotlight, so there are very few pictures of them in the media. Now, however, they are grown up and probably go through life as they see fit.
Relationship With Willi Smith
Toukie’s parents were workers. Her father had a job as a butcher, and her mother worked in a factory near her home. She had two brothers named Willi and Norman Smith. Unfortunately, Toukie lost her mother and brother Willi in 1986 and 1987. While her mother died of cirrhosis of the liver, Willi died of AIDS. As with other aspects of her private life, Toukie kept details about her family secret and removed them from the limelight.
