Former model, restaurateur, and lifestyle guru B. Smith has died at 70 following a battle with Alzheimer's disease. TMZ reports that she passed away on Saturday night (Feb. 22), and her husband Dan Gasby confirmed the news. Born Barbara Elaine Smith, she started her career as a model in the '60s, later becoming a television host, restaurateur, and author.
"It is with great sadness that my daughter Dana and I announce the passing of my wife, Barbara Elaine Smith," Gasby said 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. She was 70... Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is graced with B.'s dazzling and unforgettable smile."
Gasby also thanked all the caregivers who "helped us make B. comfortable in her final days." Smith was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2014. She was reported missing from her home in Southampton, New York later the same year, although she was found safe at a cafe in Manhattan the next day. Shortly after her retirement in 2015, she wrote a book with her husband entitled Before I Forget that detailed their lives following her diagnosis of Alzheimer's.
