Tributes Pouring in for Danielle Spencer, Former Child Star of 'What's Happening!!'

Danielle Louise Spencer was well-known worldwide as "Dee" on the popular 70s sitcom What's Happening!! She died on Monday night, August 11, 2025 from cancer at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, Virginia at the age of 60, according to WTVR CBS 6 News.

Tributes are pouring in for the former child star. ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir announced Spencer's death on national news on Tuesday evening, August 12.

About Dr. Danielle Louise Spencer

Danielle Louise Spencer became an actress around the age of eight. Yahoo Entertainment reported that she became a well-known young actress when she was just 11 years old, playing the sassy and quick-witted Dee Thomas on What's Happening!! that aired from 1976 to 1979 on ABC.

Spencer's time on the show made her the first black female child to star regularly in a television series. In 2014, she became the first child star inducted into the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. She is the only former child actor who has ever received that honor.

Fans of What's Happening!! remember the young girl's delivery, dry humor, and no-nonsense approach to family antics. She was a constant thorn in her brother’s side. Viewers often speak about Dee's memorable lines, including “Ooh, I’m gonna tell Mama!”

Life after 'What's Happening!!'

After What’s Happening!! ended in 1979, Spencer reprised her role for the syndicated sequel series What’s Happening Now!!, which aired from 1985 to 1988. Spencer last appeared in a minor role on the long-running daytime drama Days of Our Lives in 2001. Her acting credits also include The Brady Bunch Variety Hour and the Jack Nicholson film As Good as It Gets as a veterinarian. At the time, Spencer was a veterinarian in real life.

After acting, Spencer earned her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tuskegee University in 1993. Dr. Spencer practiced in the Los Angeles area before moving to Richmond, Virginia where residents loved her as a former actress and their veterinarian.

Spencer's health issues

During her time on What’s Happening!! in 1977, Spencer was involved in a severe car accident that left her with health complications. She was in a coma for three weeks and suffered broken bones in her leg, arm, and pelvis. Spencer underwent surgery to correct her issues and was left partially paralyzed for eight months. In 2018, she underwent surgery for a bleeding hematoma. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. However, she died from stomach cancer.

Tributes for Dr. Danielle Louise Spencer

Spencer's brother, jazz trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, announced here death on Instagram:

“Many of you knew her as ‘Dee,’ but she was more than a child actress. She was my sister and protector, a friend, an auntie to my three children who adored her, she was a daughter — and in many ways, my mother’s best friend, she was a veterinarian, she was someone who always remained positive even during her darkest days fighting this disease.”

Spencer's What's Happening!! co-star and longtime friend Haywood Nelson said:

"Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body. We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer."

People in Richmond fondly remember Dr. Danielle Louise Spencer as a great actress, but also as a great veterinarian who loved their pets. In addition to her brother Jeremy, she is survived by her mother, Cheryl.