{"id":1975158,"date":"2025-08-22T20:28:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T20:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1975158"},"modified":"2025-08-22T20:28:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T20:28:02","slug":"whats-happening-star-danielle-spencer-honored-at-private-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/whats-happening-star-danielle-spencer-honored-at-private-funeral\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018What\u2019s Happening!!\u2019 star Danielle Spencer honored at private funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F08%2F109933685.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Danielle Spencer has been laid to rest.<\/p>\n<p>The late \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening!!\u201d star, who <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/12\/entertainment\/danielle-spencer-whats-happening-actress-dead-at-60\/\">passed away on Aug. 11<\/a> at the age of 60, was honored during a private funeral service in Virginia on Thursday, Aug. 21.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Danielle Spencer was honored during a private memorial service in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday. <span class=\"credit\">hollyrpeete\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Spencer passed away on Aug. 11 following a lengthy battle with breast cancer. <span class=\"credit\">hollyrpeete\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cYesterday in Richmond, I had the honor of remembering Dr. Danielle Spencer \u2014 known to the world as the hilarious \u2018Dee\u2019 from\u00a0\u2018What\u2019s Happening\u2019\u00a0\u2014 but to me, she was my sweet girlfriend and schoolmate when we were just 12 and 13,\u201d\u00a0actress Holly Robinson Peete\u00a0revealed on\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DNp2KzLt8hC\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a> Friday, Aug. 22.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will never forget her kindness, her grace and her strength through life\u2019s many challenges,\u201d the \u201c21 Jump Street\u201d star, 60, added.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Peete, meanwhile, also shared a carousel of photos from Spencer\u2019s emotional celebration of life. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Holly Robinson Peete and Haywood Nelson during Spencer\u2019s memorial service in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday, Aug. 21. <span class=\"credit\">hollyrpeete\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Holly Robinson Peete, Haywood Nelson and Kim Fields during Spencer\u2019s memorial service. <span class=\"credit\">hollyrpeete\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Other guests in attendance included Spencer\u2019s \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening!!\u201d\u00a0co-star Haywood Nelson, as well as her close acting friends Kim Fields\u00a0and\u00a0Ralph Carter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing with her family and loved ones \u2014 her brother Jeremy, her co-star Haywood Nelson, her friends Kim Fields, Ralph Carter and her beautiful mother Cheryl \u2014 and sharing in the love of those who were with her in her final moments is something I will cherish forever,\u201d Peete continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRest in heavenly peace, Danielle,\u201d she ended the touching post. \u201cYou will always be remembered with so much love.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Spencer as Dee Thomas in \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening!!\u201d <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9ABC\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Spencer at Smooth Sound Multimedia Studio in Van Nuys, California, on October 20, 2012.   <span class=\"credit\">WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The beloved sitcom star sadly <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/12\/entertainment\/danielle-spencer-whats-happening-actress-dead-at-60\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed away <\/a>following a lengthy battle with breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Nelson, who co-starred with Spencer on \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening!!\u201d as Dwayne Clemens Nelson, was the first to announce the shocking news.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrilliance! It comes in a great many forms. We all have them, and we all have this family\u2019s \u2014 Dr. Danielle Spencer (June 24, 1965 \u2013 August 11, 2025),\u201d he wrote on Instagram one day after Spencer\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ernest Thomas, Mabel King and Danielle Spencer in a shot for \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening!!\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Haywood Nelson, Ernest Thomas, Danielle Spencer, Fred Berry and Mabel King in a shot for \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening!!\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cDr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body,\u201d Nelson, 65, continued. \u201cWe celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spencer was best known for her role as Dee Thomas, the sassy younger sister of the Thomas family, in \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening!!,\u201d which aired on ABC from 1976 to 1979. <\/p>\n<p>The cast also included Ernest Thomas (Raj Thomas), Fred Berry (Freddie \u201cRerun\u201d Stubbs), Mabel King (Mabel \u201cMama\u201d Thomas)\u00a0and Shirley Hemphill (Shirley Wilson).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Spencer reprised her role as Dee Thomas for \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening Now!!\u201d from 1985 to 1988. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Spencer at Smooth Sound Multimedia Studio in Van Nuys, California, on October 20, 2012. <span class=\"credit\">WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The then-child star later reprised the role as Dee for\u00a0the sitcom\u2019s sequel series, \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening Now!!,\u201d which aired from 1985 to 1988.<\/p>\n<p>Spencer detailed her experience as a child star in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/11044989-through-the-fire-journal-of-a-child-star\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">her 2010 memoir<\/a>, \u201cThrough the Fire \u2026 Journal of a Child Star,\u201d which was released 15 years before her heartbreaking passing.<\/p>\n<p>Fields, another child star famous for her roles as Tootie Ramsey on\u00a0\u201cThe Facts of Life\u201d\u00a0and as Regine Hunter on\u00a0\u201cLiving Single,\u201d remembered her late friend during the private funeral service Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHad the honor of speaking today, celebrating her life,\u201d Fields, 56, wrote on Instagram <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DNo1G6Btwrw\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alongside a video of a digital marquee<\/a> honoring Spencer. \u201cOur intersecting began pre everything. New York days.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Spencer posing for a photo in Midlothian, Virginia, in August 2019. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cDani left acting and became a successful veterinarian,\u201d she continued. \u201cDOCTOR Danielle Spencer. Thank you for your continued support, love and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Post has reached out to Spencer\u2019s former rep for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Danielle Spencer has been laid to rest. The late \u201cWhat\u2019s Happening!!\u201d 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1975159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[25538,21751,22062,25601,21741,352600,314121],"class_list":["post-1975158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-actors","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity-deaths","tag-deaths","tag-entertainment","tag-funerals","tag-sitcoms"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\u2018Whats-Happening-star-Danielle-Spencer-honored-at-private-funeral.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1975158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1975158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1975159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1975158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1975158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1975158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}