United Kingdom, Aug. 12 -- Danielle Spencer has died.

The 60-year-old former actress - who was best known for playing precocious youngster Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom What's Happening!! - passed away in hospital in Richmond, Virginia on Monday (11.08.25) after a "long battle with cancer".

Her What's Happening co-star Haywood Nelson wrote 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).

"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...