'What’s Happening!!' star Danielle Spencer dies of cancer at 60
- By Web Desk -
- Aug 13, 2025
American actor Danielle Spencer, aka sister Dee Thomas of ABC’s sitcom ‘What’s Happening!!’, has died aged 60, after battling cancer.
As reported by foreign media, actor turned veterinarian Danielle Spencer, best remembered for playing wisecracking and tattling little sister Dee Thomas on ‘What’s Happening!!’ and sequel series ‘What’s Happening Now!!’, lost her years-long battle to cancer on Monday, in Richmond, Virginia, said her family’s spokesperson Sandra Jones, before her former co-star Haywood Nelson confirmed the tragic news yesterday.
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“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, who essayed Dwayne Clemens on the show, confirmed, as he paid tribute to his late co-star on the social site Instagram. “Dr. Danielle Spencer (June 24, 1965 – August 11, 2025).”
“We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer,” he added. “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,” Nelson concluded.
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Notably, born in Trenton, New Jersey, and raised in New York, Spencer began acting when she was 9.