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Model, restauranteur and lifestyle guru B. Smith has passed away. Smith was battling early onset Alzheimer’s disease and died last night (February 22) at her home in Long Island, NY. Her husband, Dan Gasby, shared the sad news via social media.
“It is with great sadness that my daughter Dana and I announce the passing of my wife, Barbara Elaine Smith,” Gasby wrote on Facebook. “B. died peacefully Saturday, February 22, 2020, at 10:50 pm, of Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in our home in Long Island, New York…Thank you to all the friends and fans who supported B. and our family during her journey. Thank you to everyone for respecting our privacy during this agonizing time. Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is graced with B.’s dazzling and unforgettable smile.”
Gasby made headlines last year after revealing that his girlfriend was living with him and Smith and helping him care for her.
Smith rose to fame in the 1970s as a model after signing to Wilhemina modeling agency. In 1976, she became one of the first black models to cover Mademoiselle Magazine. Later in her career, she opened three of her own high-end soul food restaurants with two in New York and one in Washington D.C’s Union Station. She also added author to her repertoire when she released three cookbooks, B. Smith’s Entertaining and Cooking for Friends, Rituals and Celebrations and B. Smith Cooks Southern Style. During the 1990s, she hosted her own syndicated show, B. Smith With Style and released her own magazine, B. Smith Style. Smith also went on to have her own furniture line and a collection at Bed, Bath and Beyond.
After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2013, she and Gasby began to raise more awareness about the disease.
“It’s the toughest thing I’ve ever dealt with,” Gasby told People back in 2016. “Anybody who is an Alzheimer’s care giver knows exactly what other caregivers are going through. It’s 24/7. The complexity and the intensity of it is very tough.”
Our condolences go out to her family.
