Danielle Spencer , a former child actor best known for her role as Dee in the 1970s sitcom What’s Happening!! , has died, a publicist for her family confirmed to ABC News.

Spencer died Aug. 11, due to gastric cancer and cardiac arrest. She was 60, according to Sandra Jones , a family friend who is serving as the family’s spokesperson.

“This untimely death is really hard to process right now,” Jones told ABC News Tuesday. “She is a sweet and gentle soul and she is going to be missed very, very much.”

Spencer starred in 65 episodes of What’s Happening!! , an ABC sitcom about three teenage boys growing up in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts, according to IMDb.

Spencer played Dee Thomas, the boys’ younger sister. She also appeared in 16 episodes of the show’s s

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