Model and restaurateur B. Smith dies at 70

Barbara "B." Smith, a trailblazing model, television host, and restaurateur, died on Saturday evening at her home on Long Island. She was 70.

Smith spent years battling early-onset Alzheimer's disease. In a Facebook post, her husband, Dan Gasby, said "Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is graced with B.'s dazzling and unforgettable smile."

The Pennsylvania native started as a fashion model, and in 1976, she was just the second black woman to appear on the cover of Mademoiselle magazine. Smith was a spokeswoman for Verizon, Colgate, McCormick's Lawry seasonings, and Palmolive Oxy, and owned three restaurants. Her B. Smith's Restaurant in Manhattan opened in 1986, with Essence writing it was "where the who's who of black Manhattan meet, greet, and eat regularly."

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Smith was also a cookbook author and host of B. Smith with Style, which aired on NBC stations. She launched a home products brand that debuted at Bed Bath & Beyond in 2001, making her the first black woman to have such a line sold at a nationwide retailer, The Associated Press reports. Smith is survived by Gasby and her stepdaughter, Dana Gasby.