Model and actress Toukie Smith, the ex-girlfriend of Robert De Niro and the mother of his twins, has died at age 74 after battling multiple sclerosis.
Smith’s two children with De Niro, Airyn and Julian, confirmed their mother’s death to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday, November 9.
Smith died Wednesday, November 4, in New York after a “long, courageous battle” with MS, Airyn and Julian, both 31, said.
The twins said that their mom “shared in a remarkable family legacy that helped shape American fashion and culture,” adding 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,” Airyn and Julian said. “She left an indelible mark on our hearts and on everyone lucky enough to know her.”
Smith was a highly recognized model and also appeared in the NBC sitcom 227.
De Niro, 83, and Smith were live-in partners from 1988 to 1996. They welcomed Airyn and Julian in 1995 via a surrogate.
De Niro also shares adopted daughter Drena, 59, and son Raphael, 50, with his first wife, Diahnne Abbott, son Elliott, 28, and daughter Helen, 14, with ex-wife Grace Hightower, and daughter Gia, 3, with current girlfriend Tiffany Chen.
In April 2025, Smith and De Niro’s daughter, Airyn, came out as a transgender woman.
“Obviously no parent is perfect, but I am grateful that both my parents agreed to keep me out of the limelight. They wanted it very private,” Airyn told Them in a profile published at the time. “They have told me they wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible.”
De Niro publicly expressed his support for his daughter, telling Variety in a statement, “I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is. I love all my children.”
In an October 2025 interview with Them, Airyn shared how her Oscar-winning father had supported her through her transition.
“The support has still been nonstop from him, and I’m so grateful,” she said. “He was talking about how happy he was for me because I have an amazing boyfriend who he’s met, and [he said], ‘You have somebody who loves you for you, and you don’t need to change yourself for anybody.’”
Airyn also opened up about discussing her transition during a therapy session with her father.
“He said, ‘There’s no other thing to do than accept your kid for who they are and where they decide to go in life,’” she recalled. “He’s very good at being a dad and, not just that, [but also] accepting people from all walks of life.”
