Dr. Danielle Spencer, who famously played Dee Thomas in the ABC sitcom “What’s Happening!!” has passed away. She was 60 years old.
Her former costar, Haywood Nelson, posted a heartfelt tribute to her on Tuesday on Instagram, noting that she passed away on Aug. 11.
“Brilliance! It comes in a great many forms. We all have them and we all have this family’s,” he wrote. “Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body. We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.”
“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.”
The Bronx, New York native starred in the ’70s sitcom from 1976 to 1979.
During her time on the show, she was involved in a major car accident that killed her stepfather and left her in a coma for three weeks. She also suffered a broken leg, arm and pelvis. She later “started experiencing massive debilitating headaches.” In 2004, she was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which was caused by the accident.
After “What’s Happening!!” was canceled, she studied veterinary medicine at the University of California-Davis and became a veterinarian. She practiced in Santa Clarita, California, before moving to Richmond, Virginia, to be close to home. She would often do vet segments for the CBS affiliate WTVR-TV.
In the ’80s, she reprised her role as Dee in “What’s Happening Now!!,” which aired from 1985 to 1988.
While serving as a vet, she also played one on the big screen, like in the 1997 Jack Nicholson film “As Good As It Gets.”
She later In 2001, she appeared in an episode of “Days of Our Lives.”
In 2014, she was inducted as the only Black female child star to be part of a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
With the accident behind her, her health issues persisted.
In 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2018, a GoFundMe was set up for her to help cover her medical expenses after she underwent emergency brain surgery to remove a bleeding hematoma that “formed due to the car accident.”
THR reports that Spencer passed away in Richmond, Virginia.
She is survived by her mother and her brother, Jeremy, who is a jazz musician.
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