She passed away on 19 July (15), according to The Hollywood Reporter, but no further details were made available.

The actress, who starred alongside Sidney Poitier in No Way Out, had a short-lived acting career, including roles in Men to the Seas, Mamba's Daughter, and Beggar's Holiday.

Two years after playing Poitier's wife No Way Out, Smith was injured in a plane crash in 1952. She recovered and forged a music career, starring in the musical Cockles and Champagne in London.

She later worked as an editor for the black lifestyle magazine Our World, and became a teacher in New York.

Smith was the widow of late journalist and vice-president of WNEW-TV, David Hepburn, who died in 1985.