Danielle Spencer, the child actress beloved by a generation for the role of Dee Thomas in the sitcom “What’s Happening!!”, died Monday. She was 60.
Spencer died following a years-long battle with breast cancer, according to her co-star Haywood Nelson. She died at a hospital in Richmond, Va., surrounded by family, Nelson told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body,” Nelson wrote in an Instagram post. “We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, ‘What’s Happening’ cast member, veterinarian, animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine.”
Spencer charmed audiences as the youngest member of the “What’s Happening!!” cast, delivering the spicy, smart-aleck remarks of the show’s youngest child. She also returned for the short-lived sequel series, “What’s Happening Now!!”
“What I did was use my own family as the reference on how to portray my character,” Spencer told Jet magazine in 2014. “I had never seen any young Black girl in that type of spotlight, so I didn’t have a reference point in the media as to how to deal with this opportunity.”
Born June 24, 1965, and raised in the Bronx, Spencer’s first career dream was to be a veterinarian — a goal she would accomplish after childhood fame. However, she began acting around age 8 and fell in love with the stage, eventually landing the role of Dee Thomas and moving to Southern California with her family.
In the middle of filming season two of “What’s Happening!!” Spencer was involved in a car crash that killed her stepfather, actor Tim Pelt, and left her with lifelong spinal issues.
After the two sitcoms, Spencer left Hollywood to pursue her first love, caring for animals. She attended UC Davis and UCLA, then got her veterinary degree from Tuskegee University.
“I wanted to become a vet so that I could save my own animals should they become ill,” she told Jet. “It’s rewarding to be able to diagnose and treat a pet’s illness so that the entire family can get back to normal.”
Spencer worked for two decades as a veterinarian in Southern California and made three small acting appearances, including as a vet in the 1997 film “As Good As It Gets.”
In 2014, Spencer was diagnosed with breast cancer, right around the time she moved to Richmond with her mother, Cheryl. While in the city, she routinely dispensed animal advice in a segment for local CBS affiliate WTVR.
In addition to Cheryl, Spencer is survived by her brother, Jeremy, a jazz musician.
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