Barbara “B” Smith, model, lifestyle author, restaurateur and former host of her own syndicated show “B. Smith With Style,” died on Saturday, her husband announced on Facebook Sunday. She was 70.
Smith died from complications of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, following a diagnosis in 2013.
“Thank you to Dr. Sam Gandy, East End Hospice and additional caregivers who helped us make B. comfortable in her final days,” her husband, Dan Gasby, wrote. “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.”
Smith first became known to the public in the mid-1960s, when she began a career in modeling and became the second African American to grace the cover of Mademoiselle magazine in 1976. A year later, her weekly half-hour syndicated TV show, “B. Smith With Style,” debuted, featuring cooking and home décor segments.
Her career expanded in 1986 with the opening of the first of her many restaurants, aptly named B. Smith. In 2001, she developed a home décor collection for Bed Bath & Beyond. A few years later, she launched a furniture collection with the La-Z-Boy company Clayton Marcus.
After authoring three cookbooks and being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2013, Smith and her husband co-authored “Before I Forget,” a very personal chronicle following their journey as the disease progressed.