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.”

Former child star Danielle Spencer has died at age 60 following a battle with breast cancer. Spencer’s friend and former What’s Happening!! costar Haywood Nelson shared the news in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

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.