ENTERTAINMENT NEWS – Danielle Spencer, beloved former “What’s Happening!” child star (Dee) and veterinarian, passes away at 60

Ananya Roy, News Writer

Danielle Spencer, who gained fame as the outspoken Dee Thomas on ABC’s 1970s sitcom What’s Happening!!, died on August 11 at the age of 60. Her passing was announced by longtime friend and co-star Haywood Nelson in an Instagram tribute, noting she had faced a prolonged battle with cancer. An official cause of death has not been released.

Spencer joined What’s Happening!! in 1976 and later reprised her role in the mid-1980s syndicated sequel What’s Happening Now!!. Her life was marked by resilience—surviving a severe 1977 car accident that left her in a coma, enduring paralysis from spinal stenosis, beating breast cancer in 2014, and undergoing critical brain surgery in 2018.

Born June 24, 1965, in the Bronx, Spencer eventually shifted her focus from acting to veterinary medicine, earning her degree from Tuskegee University in 1996. She built a decades-long career caring for animals and advocating for their welfare. She also chronicled her life experiences in her memoir Through the Fire: Journal of a Child Star.

Nelson remembered her as a “brilliant, loving, and courageous warrior” whose legacy will continue to be cherished.