Danielle Spencer died at the age of 60 in August 2025 following a battle with cancer. The late child star-turned-veterinarian — best known for her role in the 1970s sitcom What’s Happening!! — built more than a life in showbusiness, which likely contributed to her net worth and overall success. As fans mourn her death, others are learning about Spencer’s career.
“We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, What’s Happening cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine,” Spencer’s former What’s Happening!! co-star Haywood Nelson wrote in an Instagram post after she died. “Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced. … 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.”
Learn about Spencer’s film and veterinarian career below.
Who Was Danielle Spencer?
Spencer was an actress recognized for playing the character Dee in What’s Happening!! and its sequel sitcom, What’s Happening Now!! After establishing herself in Hollywood, the late New Jersey native appeared in other on-screen projects, including The Brady Bunch Hour, Special Treat, Days of Our Lives and As Good as It Gets.
Outside of the film business, Spencer sought out for a career in the medical field. She attended Tuskegee University Veterinary School in Alabama and became a veterinarian in 1996.
Moreover, Spencer opened up about her life as a child actor in her memoir, Through the Fire: Journal of a Child Star.
What Was Danielle Spencer’s Net Worth?
After building a portfolio as an actress, Spencer went on to increase her fortune. She had an overall net worth of $1 million by 2025, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
What Cancer Did Danielle Spencer Have?
Spencer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. At the time, the doctor and actress was shocked, she explained to BlackAmericaWeb, per ABC News.
“I’m trying to get as many opinions as possible, but it does look like that is what I’m going to do,” she said, referring to surgery. “Hopefully after that there won’t be any chemotherapy or radiation involved.”
In 2018, Spencer underwent surgery to stop bleeding on her brain from a hematoma, according to a GoFundMe page from that year. The page was set up to help Spencer with medical bills.
How Did Danielle Spencer Die?
Spencer died in a Virginia hospital as a result of complications from cancer, multiple outlets reported in August 2025.