August 13, 2025
The former child actress-turned-veterinarian was 60 years old
The Black sitcom world paused to acknowledge the death of Dr. Danielle Spencer (Dee), 60, of the classic television series What’s Happening!!, after her former co-star on the show, Heyward Nelson, told the world of her passing.
In a social media post, the actor who played “Dwayne” in the sitcom alerted the world to Spencer’s death. According to the post, she died Aug. 11 after a long battle with cancer.
“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 you of her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.
“We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, “What’s Happening” cast member, veterinarian, animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine—our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced. @ernestleethomas @extrap72 @cheryl.pelt.52 @danygirl624“
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Spencer portrayed the young daughter, Dee, of the character, Mabel Thomas (Mabel King), and the sister of Roger (Raj) Thomas (Ernest Lee Thomas). The series was based on the antics of three teenagers, Raj, Dwayne, and Rerun (Fred Berry), living in the inner city. It was based loosely on the classic movie, Cooley High, which came out in 1975. The show aired on ABC for three seasons from 1976 to 1979.
After the original series went off the air in 1979, it returned with a sequel, What’s Happening Now!!, which featured Spencer in a recurring role. That series also lasted three seasons from 1985 until it ended in 1988.
According to People, after leaving Hollywood, she became a veterinarian after attending the University of California, Davis, and then earning a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1993 from Tuskegee University Veterinary School in Alabama.
ABC News reported in 2014 that Spencer was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“With everything that I’ve been through with the spinal cord injury, I said I know God is not going to give me another affliction,” she said (She was involved in a car accident in 1997 in Malibu, Calif., that took the life of her stepfather, Tim Pelt). “So I was completely shocked when the doctors told me.”
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