This is my series devoted to the real life models who became Rootstein mannequins.
This Mannequin is Toukie Smith which was released in the Jubilee series in the 1970’s.
She is often credited as being the first African American female mannequin that Rootstein produced. But this is not true, it was Donalye Luna. But because Donalye moved to Europe and died young, people tend to forget about her.
It was probably because of her celebrity status that she gets the recognition of being the first. She is the sister of fashion designer Willie Smith and she was an actress on the tv show Room 222. And she was the long term companion of actor Robert DeNiro.
In the Rootstein catalog she is called TUCKY, versus Toukie.
If you want to buy a Rootstein mannequin, we frequently have used ones for sale here. You can also sign up to receive an email the next time we get more used Rootstein mannequins in stock or follow us on Facebook.
