Liputan6.com, Jakarta The entertainment world is once again mourning the passing of veteran actress Danielle Spencer, best known for her role as Dee Thomas on the popular ABC sitcom "What's Happening!!".
Spencer passed away on Monday, August 11, 2025, at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of 60.
Her passing followed a long battle with stomach cancer.The sad news was first announced by her brother, Jeremy Pelt, via social media, and later confirmed by her "What's Happening!!" co-star, Haywood Nelson.
Nelson, who played Dwayne, paid a heartfelt tribute, calling Danielle Spencer "Dr. Dee, our brilliant, compassionate, positive, pragmatic warrior."
Before her death from stomach cancer, Danielle Spencer had faced a series of serious health challenges.
These included a breast cancer diagnosis in 2014 and emergency surgery in 2018 to address a brain hemorrhage resulting from a traumatic childhood car accident.
Danielle Spencer Profile
Danielle Louise Spencer was born on June 24, 1965, in Trenton, New Jersey, United States, and raised in the Bronx, New York.
She is the daughter of writer Cheryl Pelt and considers her mother's second husband, Tim Pelt, an actor and co-founder of a theater company, her father.
Her family's close proximity to the world of acting shaped her interests from an early age.
Danielle Spencer's acting career began at around eight years old, but it was her role as Dee Thomas on the sitcom "What's Happening!!" (1976-1979) that put her into fame.
Danielle Spencer's Career Peak and Other Achievements
The character of Dee, with her signature line "Oooh, I'm gonna tell Mama!", became iconic and endearing.
She reprised the role in the sequel "What's Happening Now!!" from 1985 to 1988.
“I had never seen any young black girl in that type of spotlight, so I didn’t have a reference point in the media as to how to deal with this opportunity,” she told Jet magazine in 2014.
“I was from the Bronx. What I did was use my own family as the reference on how to portray my character.”
Spencer also appeared in small roles on "Days of Our Lives" in 2001 and the film "As Good as It Gets" in 1997.
She earned a bachelor's degree in marine biology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), before continuing her veterinary education at Tuskegee University Veterinary School in Alabama, graduating in 1993.
Spencer then worked as a veterinarian in Santa Clarita, California, and later in Richmond, Virginia, even hosting a segment on animal care for WTVR-TV.
Her dedication didn't stop there; Danielle Spencer also wrote a memoir titled "Through the Fire… Journal of a Child Star" in 2010, which recounts her childhood experiences as a star.
Danielle Spencer's Health Struggle
Danielle Spencer's life has been marked by numerous significant health challenges.
In September 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and immediately underwent a double mastectomy.
One of the most significant incidents in Danielle Spencer's life was a serious car accident on September 6, 1977, that also involved her stepfather, Tim Pelt.
The accident left Spencer in a coma for three weeks and claimed the life of Tim Pelt, who died while trying to protect her.
“I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to my stepfather, Daddy Tim, whom I loved and who taught me show business as a young child in New York,” Spencer wrote in her 2010 memoir, Through the Fire … Journal of a Child Star.
Although she has no memory of the incident, the long-term impact of the accident has been profound, including a diagnosis of spinal stenosis in 2004 that caused chronic pain and balance problems.
In 2018, Danielle Spencer underwent emergency surgery to treat bleeding in her brain, which was identified as the result of an undetected head injury from the 1977 accident.
Near the end of her life, Danielle Spencer battled stomach cancer, which ultimately took her life.
In a 2016 interview with Hers magazine, Spencer said it was important to do “what it is that you think is going to make you happy.”
“You really have to live life for you at that minute,” she said.
“And just try to have fun. Be lighthearted and be happy while you’re here, because you never know when that time is going to end.”