Toukie Smith Dies: ‘227’ & ‘Miami Vice’ Actor Was 74

Toukie Smith, who played Eva Rawley on the NBC sitcom 227, recurred on Miami Vice, appeared in films and was the former partner of Robert De Niro, has died. She was 74.

Her twins Airyn and Julian said Smith died November 4 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. “Toukie was a force of nature,” her children said in a statement. “She left an indelible mark on our hearts and on everyone lucky enough to know her.”

Born on September 25, 1952, in Philadelphia, Smith’s first screen credits was a recurring role on NBC’s popular cop drama Miami Vice. She played Angie, the assistant to Caitlin Davies (Sheena Easton), an ill-fated pop singer whose bodyguard and eventual husband is Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson). Smith appeared in three Season 4 episodes in 1987-88.

Smith went on to appear in the 1988 feature Me and Him before landing her most famous role. She guested on the Marla Gibbs-led 227 late in its penultimate Season 4 and was promoted to series regular for the final season in 1989-90. Her Eva Rawley was an artist who becomes the manager of 227 Lexington Place before leaving the job and working at an art gallery. Smith appeared in two dozen episodes of the series.

After 227 wrapped, Smith would have roles in such 1990s features as The Preacher’s Wife, I Like It Like That, Joe’s Apartment and Goosed. She also was a model, working with the likes of Alvaro, Jean-Paul Goude, Patrick Kelly, Antonio Lopez and her brother, Willi Smith, a costume designer whose credits include the 1998 Spike Lee film School Daze

She was De Niro were partners from 1988-96, and they shared twin children Airyn and Julian, who were conceived by in vitro fertilization and delivered via surrogate.

She is survived by her children, brother Norman Smith-Harllee, nephew Eliazar Smith-Harllee.