'Dee' From What's Happening!! Dies at 60

Danielle Spencer became a veterinarian after her acting career
Posted Aug 12, 2025 1:38 PM CDT
'Dee' From What's Happening!! Dies at 60
A screenshot of Danielle Spencer, as 'Dee.'   (YouTube)

A child acting star from the 1970s is gone: Danielle Spencer, who played Dee on ABC's What's Happening!! has died at age 60, reports People. No cause of death has been announced. One of her co-stars from the show, Haywood Nelson, announced the news on Instagram.

  • "Brilliance! It comes in a great many forms. We all have them, and we all have this family's—Dr. Danielle Spencer (June 24, 1965 – August 11, 2025)," he wrote.

The "Dr." in that post is a reference to Spencer's post-acting career as a veterinarian. Spencer played the feisty little sister of main character Raj for all three seasons of the show's run from 1976-79, notes Deadline. In the show's second season, she was in a serious car crash with her stepfather in Malibu—it took his life and left her in a coma for three weeks. When the ABC sitcom wrapped, Spencer took a few more acting roles, the last in 2001 on an episode of Days of Our Lives.

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