B. Smith

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American restaurateur, TV personality (1949–2020)

title: "B. Smith" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1949-births", "2020-deaths", "20th-century-african-american-businesspeople", "20th-century-african-american-women", "20th-century-american-businesspeople", "20th-century-american-businesswomen", "21st-century-african-american-businesspeople", "21st-century-african-american-women", "21st-century-american-businesspeople", "21st-century-american-businesswomen", "african-american-female-models", "african-american-businesswomen", "american-restaurateurs", "american-television-chefs", "american-women-chefs", "american-women-restaurateurs", "american-women-television-hosts", "businesspeople-from-pittsburgh", "deaths-from-alzheimer's-disease-in-new-york-(state)", "female-models-from-pennsylvania", "people-from-fayette-county,-pennsylvania", "people-from-manhattan", "people-from-sag-harbor,-new-york", "people-from-westmoreland-county,-pennsylvania"] description: "American restaurateur, TV personality (1949–2020)" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._Smith" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American restaurateur, TV personality (1949–2020) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameB. Smith
imageBLAM BSMITH.jpg
captionSmith in 2016
birth_nameBarbara Elaine Smith
birth_date
birth_placeEverson, Pennsylvania, U.S.
death_date
death_placeLong Island, New York, U.S
occupation
educationSouthmoreland High School
spouse{{plainlist
* {{marriageDonald Anderson
known forFirst African-American model featured on Mademoiselle magazine (1976)
years_active1973–2015
{{Infobox chefchild
styleGlobal eclectic with Southern influences
ratings
prevrests{{plainlist
*B. Smith Union Station{{cite webtitle
television{{plainlist
awards
website
::

| name = B. Smith | image = BLAM BSMITH.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Smith in 2016 | birth_name = Barbara Elaine Smith | birth_date = | birth_place = Everson, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Long Island, New York, U.S | occupation = | education = Southmoreland High School | spouse = {{plainlist|

| known for = First African-American model featured on Mademoiselle magazine (1976) | years_active = 1973–2015 | module = | style = Global eclectic with Southern influences | ratings =

Early life and education

Smith was born on August 24, 1949, in the Pittsburgh suburb of Everson, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Florence, was a maid and her father, William, a steelworker. Smith was raised in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and attended Southmoreland High School, graduating in 1967. In high school, the Future Homemakers of America club, while supposedly integrated, refused to let Smith join because of her race; she countered by starting her own homemaking club with herself as president.

Career

Modeling, television, and stage

In the mid-1960s, Smith began her career in modeling, participating in the Ebony Fashion Fair and later signing with the Wilhelmina Models agency.

Smith made two appearances on the children's television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, once as a model for Queen Sara's wedding dress, and once giving a tour of her restaurant, B. Smith, and making raspberry custard with Fred Rogers and her head chef, Henry. During the episode, she taught child viewers about the importance of washing hands, and shared the excitement of using huge bowls and mixers. She said her dream was to feed people, which began at an early age when she fed her dolls. Her weekly half-hour syndicated television show, B. Smith with Style, debuted in 1997 and also aired weekdays on BTN and Bounce TV. It featured home decor and cooking segments.

Smith appeared as herself on "Prelude to a Kiss", a 1999 episode of the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, in which Aunt Hilda summons her in order to teach a group of unruly pirates to keep house.

In 2011, Smith accepted a role in the Off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore for an April 27 – May 29 run with Conchata Ferrell, AnnaLynne McCord, Anne Meara, and Minka Kelly.

Restaurateur and retailer

Smith owned multiple restaurants called B. Smith. The first opened in 1986, on Eighth Avenue at 47th Street in New York City, and several years later moved around the corner to Restaurant Row on 46th Street; followed by another one in Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York. She also owned a restaurant in the historic Beaux-Arts Union Station in Washington, D.C.; in September 2013, it was reported that restaurant would close. In 2014, the Sag Harbor restaurant was shuttered, followed by the Manhattan location in January 2015.

Smith's interest in décor and restaurant design led to the development of her first home collection, which debuted at Bed, Bath & Beyond in Spring 2001. She also launched a line of serveware in 2004. In spring 2010, Smith debuted her first furniture collection with the La-Z-Boy company Clayton Marcus.

Author

B. Smith authored three books concentrating on recipes and presentation: B. Smith's Entertaining and Cooking for Friends (1995), B. Smith's Rituals and Celebrations (1999), and B. Smith Cooks Southern Style (2009). Smith and her husband released Before I Forget in early 2016, detailing their journey following her diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's. The book was written with husband Dan Gasby and Vanity Fair contributing editor Michael Shnayerson.

Personal life

Smith married twice. Her first marriage was to former HBO executive Donald "Don" Anderson from 1986 until 1990. Smith began dating Anderson after formally meeting him at her restaurant in late 1986. Smith married Dan Gasby in 1992 at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Manhattan. Gasby was the executive producer of the Essence Awards and the senior vice president of marketing at Camelot Entertainment Sales Inc. Smith was stepmother of Gasby's daughter, Dana.

Smith lived in Sag Harbor, New York, on Long Island, until she and Dan Gasby moved to nearby East Hampton, in the mid-2010s. She previously lived on Central Park South and had a second apartment she used as an office.

Illness and death

In June 2014, Smith revealed that she had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and stated that she was disclosing the information to counter the stigma associated with the disease. In November 2014, Smith's husband reported her missing from Southampton, New York. She was found the next day in a cafe in Midtown Manhattan.

On February 22, 2020, Smith died of early-onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of 70.

References

References

  1. "Washington DC". B. Smith official website.
  2. (December 27, 1992). "Weddings; Barbara Smith and Dan Gasby". [[The New York Times]].
  3. Reed, Julia. (August 22, 1999). "Can B. Smith Be Martha?". The New York Times.
  4. Penrice, Ronda Racha. (2007). "African American History for Dummies". For Dummies.
  5. (2006). "Encyclopedia of African American Business, Volume 1". [[Greenwood Publishing]].
  6. Reed, Julia. (November 5, 1999). "All She Can B.". [[Sun-Sentinel]].
  7. Sodergren, Rebecca. (February 4, 2010). "B. Smith's career takes another turn – cookbook author". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
  8. Zajac, Frances Borsodi. (July 15, 2012). "B. Smith does everything with style".
  9. Dreilinger, Danielle. (2021). "The Secret History of Home Economics". W.W. Norton & Company.
  10. (July 23, 2015). "Former Ebony Fashion Fair Models Host Reunion in Atlanta August 22".
  11. Hadley, Ebony. (September 3, 2019). "Ebony Fashion Fair: Defining African-Americans in Fashion".
  12. Chideya, Farai. (January 2, 2007). "B. Smith Becomes Face of Betty Crocker Cornbread". [[NPR]].
  13. "B. Smith with Style Episodes". [[Food Network]].
  14. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: Prelude to a Kiss | TVmaze".
  15. (January 31, 2008). "Prelude To A Kiss".
  16. Gans, Andrew. (April 14, 2011). "Minka Kelly, Susan Sullivan Set for Love, Loss... Off-Broadway". [[Playbill]].
  17. Grimes, William. (2020-02-23). "B. Smith, Model Turned Restaurateur and Lifestyle Guru, Dies at 70". The New York Times.
  18. O'Connell, Jonathan. (September 13, 2013). "B. Smith's restaurant in Union Station to close after almost 20 years in business". [[The Washington Post]].
  19. Ogunnaike, Lola. (June 15, 2011). "B. Smith, a Renaissance Woman, Returns to the Stage: Up Close". The New York Times.
  20. (December 25, 2006). "B. Smith picks fabrics for new Clayton Marcus line". Furniture Today.
  21. "Cookbooks". B. Smith official website.
  22. (November 23, 2015). "Nonfiction Book Review: Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer's". [[Publishers Weekly]].
  23. Jevens, Darel. (February 23, 2020). "B. Smith dead: Style expert dies of Alzheimer's Disease".
  24. Szokan, Nancy. (January 22, 2016). "B. Smith on life with Alzheimer's". Newsday.
  25. Stein, Jeannine. (February 3, 2000). "Poised for Everything". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  26. Williams, Lena. (January 2, 1989). "B. Smith's Restaurant Has Marriage on Menu". The New York Times.
  27. Stein, Jeannine. (February 3, 2000). "Poised for Everything". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  28. Hamilton, William L.. (April 22, 2004). "At Home With: B. Smith; A Move Up (Martha Who?)". The New York Times.
  29. Reed, Julia. (November 5, 1999). "All She Can B.". The New York Times via [[Sun-Sentinel]].
  30. Ramanathan, Lavanya. (January 28, 2019). "Lifestyle guru B. Smith has Alzheimer's. Her husband has a mistress. Her fans aren't having it.". [[The Washington Post]].
  31. Harris, Elizabeth. (April 11, 2010). "B. Smith Closes a Chapter". The New York Times.
  32. Pomorski, Chris. (April 8, 2014). "Bed, Bath and Way Beyond: Décor Maven Drops Central Park Co-op for $5.6 M.". [[The New York Observer]].
  33. Oldenburg, Ann. (June 6, 2014). "B. Smith reveals she has Alzheimer's". [[USA Today]].
  34. (November 26, 2014). "Former model and restaurateur B. Smith missing". [[WNYW]].
  35. Langer, Emily. (February 23, 2020). "B. Smith, model turned restaurateur and lifestyle maven, dies at 70". The Washington Post.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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