Danielle Spencer, the actress best known for playing the quick-witted little sister Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom “What’s Happening!!” died on Monday at a hospital in Richmond, Va., her brother announced on Instagram. She had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer and undergone a double mastectomy and emergency surgeries. She was 60.

She played a witty teenager on one of the first American television shows that centered on young Black people.

What’s Happening!! was one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 1970s. Featuring a core cast of six actors, the popular ABC sitcom focused on a group of Black teens living in Los Angeles. The series aired from 1976 to 1979 and later scored a spinoff in the mid-1980s titled What’s Happening Now!

Most of the ‘What’s Happening!!’ cast paid tribute to Danielle Spencer after she died in 2025. Find out where the former co-stars are today.