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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.
The announcement of Spencer’s death was shared via Nelson’s unverified Instagram account. It read, in part, “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.”
Below, learn about Spencer’s life, career and death.
Who Was Danielle Spencer?
Spencer was a child actor famous for playing the role of Dee in What’s Happening!! The comedy series was loosely based on the 1975 movie Cooley High. The successful sitcom ran on ABC for three seasons from 1976 to 1979 and was given a sequel sitcom titled What’s Happening Now!!, which lasted another three years.
Known for her character’s catch phrase, “Ooooh, I’m gonna tell Mama!” Spencer returned for the sequel show, which ran from 1985 to 1988.
How Did Danielle Spencer Die?
According to Nelson, Spencer died following a battle with cancer. In his Instagram statement, the actor 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.”
Additionally, multiple outlets reported that Spencer died in a hospital resulting from complications with cancer.
What Type of Cancer Did Danielle Spencer Have?
Spencer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and subsequently underwent a double mastectomy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Four years later, the late doctor had an emergency operation to stop bleeding on her brain.
Back in 2018, a GoFundMe was created to help Spencer pay her medical bills. The page indicates that Spencer’s 1976 car accident led to persistent headaches and an eventual hematoma.
“42 years to the date of her major car accident in 1976 resulting in the untimely death of her stepfather, actor Tim Pelt, and leaving her in a coma for three weeks, a broken leg, arm and pelvis, Dr. Danielle Spencer started experiencing massive debilitating headaches,” the GoFundMe reads. “After going back and forth to the doctor for medicine, the headaches persisted until last week when she became unconscious. These headaches left her unresponsive and caused her to almost succumb to her illness. With quick action from expert doctors, they did emergency brain surgery removing a bleeding hematoma that formed due to the car accident 42 years ago.”