Former child actress Danielle Spencer, best known for starring as Dee Thomas in the ABC sitcom What’s Happening!!, has passed away. She was 60 years old. Spencer’s passing was announced by her What’s Happening!! co-star Haywood Nelson, who remembered her as a “brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior.”

Danielle Spencer, the former child star from the 1970s sitcom What’s Happening!! died, her co-star Haywood Nelson announced on August 12, 2025. Spencer was 60 years old. The late actor-turned-veterinarian was battling a form of cancer during the end of her life, and fans are wondering what her cause of death since Spencer was only 60.

Danielle Spencer, the former child actress best known for her role as sassy tween Dee Thomas on the groundbreaking sitcom "What's Happening!!," died Monday after battling cancer for several years. She was 60.