Danielle Spencer, child star from TV sitcom 'What's Happening !!,' passes away at 60 after private health battle

Danielle Spencer, who played the precocious, wisecracking Dee Thomas on the 1970s ABC sitcom "What’s Happening!" has died.

Spencer died Monday in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, according to her "What’s Happening!" co-star Haywood Nelson.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy in 2014 and in 2018, respectively. She subsequently underwent emergency surgery to relieve bleeding on her brain.

After the series was cancelled, Spencer attended Tuskegee University, becoming a veterinarian in 1993.

Haywood Nelson shared the following on Instagram: “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.”

Danielle Spencer was only 60 years old.

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