Restaurateur and lifestyle maven B. Smith has passed away at age 70.
Barbara Elaine Smith died of complications from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease at her home on Long Island on Saturday night, her husband Dan Gasby said in a Facebook post.
“It is with great sadness that my daughter Dana and I announce the passing of my wife, Barbara Elaine Smith,” 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,” he added.
Smith was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2013, Smith got her to start as a fashion model — becoming one of the first black women to grace Mademoiselle magazine’s cover before entering the food and television world. Smith ran restaurants in Manhattan, Sag Harbor and Washington D.C., wrote three books about cooking and entertaining and had a home goods collection at Bed Bath & Beyond, the “first line from an African-American woman to be sold at a nationwide retail store.
She will be missed.
Recently her husband Gasby spoke about how her illness was taking a toll on him before finding new love.
Watch the video below.
