Emerald City Video

Grace Smith, whose son Kevin has built an indie film and pop culture empire on the back of his simple New Jersey upbringing, has died. She was 79 years old.

Smith was born on December 11, 1945, in Newark, New Jersey, with the birth name Grace Virginia McCormick. Her mother was an unwed teen, who gave the baby up for adoption. Kevin Smith’s grandparents would change Grace’s last name to Schultz when they adopted her.

“She taught me right from wrong, she bought me Star Wars toys, she dried my eyes when I cried and gave me shit whenever I was being an asshole,” Kevin Smith wrote in 2015. “If you’ve ever liked me or anything I’ve ever done, it’s all because of Amazing Grace.”

Grace married Donald Smith at 19 years old and changed her name one last time. The couple had three children — Virginia, Donald, and Kevin — and relocated to the small town that her son would immortalize on film in 1966, four years before Kevin was born.

“She was a lioness, fiercely protective of her pride, who lived for her kids – so there’s never been a day in my life when I didn’t know in my bones that I was valued as human being, cherished as a child, and deeply loved beyond reason,” Smith wrote in a social media post today. “My Mom made me feel like I mattered – to our family, to the world, and especially to her.”

Smith has cancelled some upcoming events to be with his family and mourn. He joked that fans waiting to see him in Colorado later in the month should “expect lots of mom talk.”

Grace Smith appeared in Clerks as the “milk maid,” an annoying customer who pulled gallons of milk out of the cooler to look for the one with the best expiration date. She would reprise that role in Clerks II and Shooting Clerks, as well as appearing in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot as a big Silent Bob fan, and in Clerks III, where she auditioned for the movie-within-the-movie.

Grace Smith has had persistent health issues in recent years. She was in a Florida hospital in 2023 when I reached out to Kevin about the first screening of The Flash, and joked at the time that news of the Nicolas Cage Superman cameo revived her from the brink.

Grace has been in the hospital a few times since, and had a near-death experience over the weekend which Kevin posted about on Instagram yesterday.

In October, Grace celebrated her 80th birthday at an event held at Smodcastle Cinemas, the movie theater now owned by her son, where she used to take him to the movies as a kid.

We here at ECV, and I as a person, wish to send love and sympathy out to Kevin and his family.