‘What’s Happening!!’ star Danielle Spencer honored at private funeral



Danielle Spencer has been laid to rest.

The late “What’s Happening!!” star, who passed away on Aug. 11 at the age of 60, was honored during a private funeral service in Virginia on Thursday, Aug. 21.

Danielle Spencer was honored during a private memorial service in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday. hollyrpeete/Instagram
Spencer passed away on Aug. 11 following a lengthy battle with breast cancer. hollyrpeete/Instagram

“Yesterday in Richmond, I had the honor of remembering Dr. Danielle Spencer — known to the world as the hilarious ‘Dee’ from ‘What’s Happening’ — but to me, she was my sweet girlfriend and schoolmate when we were just 12 and 13,” actress Holly Robinson Peete revealed on Instagram Friday, Aug. 22.

“I will never forget her kindness, her grace and her strength through life’s many challenges,” the “21 Jump Street” star, 60, added.

Peete, meanwhile, also shared a carousel of photos from Spencer’s emotional celebration of life.

Holly Robinson Peete and Haywood Nelson during Spencer’s memorial service in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Aug. 21. hollyrpeete/Instagram
Holly Robinson Peete, Haywood Nelson and Kim Fields during Spencer’s memorial service. hollyrpeete/Instagram

Other guests in attendance included Spencer’s “What’s Happening!!” co-star Haywood Nelson, as well as her close acting friends Kim Fields and Ralph Carter.

“Being with her family and loved ones — her brother Jeremy, her co-star Haywood Nelson, her friends Kim Fields, Ralph Carter and her beautiful mother Cheryl — and sharing in the love of those who were with her in her final moments is something I will cherish forever,” Peete continued.

“Rest in heavenly peace, Danielle,” she ended the touching post. “You will always be remembered with so much love.”

Spencer as Dee Thomas in “What’s Happening!!” ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Spencer at Smooth Sound Multimedia Studio in Van Nuys, California, on October 20, 2012. WireImage

The beloved sitcom star sadly passed away following a lengthy battle with breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2014.

Nelson, who co-starred with Spencer on “What’s Happening!!” as Dwayne Clemens Nelson, was the first to announce the shocking news.

“Brilliance! It comes in a great many forms. We all have them, and we all have this family’s — Dr. Danielle Spencer (June 24, 1965 – August 11, 2025),” he wrote on Instagram one day after Spencer’s passing.

Ernest Thomas, Mabel King and Danielle Spencer in a shot for “What’s Happening!!” Courtesy Everett Collection
Haywood Nelson, Ernest Thomas, Danielle Spencer, Fred Berry and Mabel King in a shot for “What’s Happening!!” Courtesy Everett Collection

“Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body,” Nelson, 65, continued. “We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.”

Spencer was best known for her role as Dee Thomas, the sassy younger sister of the Thomas family, in “What’s Happening!!,” which aired on ABC from 1976 to 1979.

The cast also included Ernest Thomas (Raj Thomas), Fred Berry (Freddie “Rerun” Stubbs), Mabel King (Mabel “Mama” Thomas) and Shirley Hemphill (Shirley Wilson).

Spencer reprised her role as Dee Thomas for “What’s Happening Now!!” from 1985 to 1988. ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Spencer at Smooth Sound Multimedia Studio in Van Nuys, California, on October 20, 2012. WireImage

The then-child star later reprised the role as Dee for the sitcom’s sequel series, “What’s Happening Now!!,” which aired from 1985 to 1988.

Spencer detailed her experience as a child star in her 2010 memoir, “Through the Fire … Journal of a Child Star,” which was released 15 years before her heartbreaking passing.

Fields, another child star famous for her roles as Tootie Ramsey on “The Facts of Life” and as Regine Hunter on “Living Single,” remembered her late friend during the private funeral service Thursday.

“Had the honor of speaking today, celebrating her life,” Fields, 56, wrote on Instagram alongside a video of a digital marquee honoring Spencer. “Our intersecting began pre everything. New York days.”

Spencer posing for a photo in Midlothian, Virginia, in August 2019. AP

“Dani left acting and became a successful veterinarian,” she continued. “DOCTOR Danielle Spencer. Thank you for your continued support, love and respect.”

The Post has reached out to Spencer’s former rep for comment.





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