N.J. native Danielle Spencer, ‘What’s Happening!!’ child star who played Dee, dies at 60

Danielle Spencer , who rose to fame as a child actor, has died.

Spencer, a Trenton native, played the hilarious young Dee Thomas in the ABC comedy series “ What’s Happening!! ”

The actor, who grew up in the Bronx, later became a veterinarian.

Her younger brother, jazz trumpeter Jeremy Pelt , announced on Instagram that she died of cancer.

Pelt watched Spencer, 60, take her last breath.

“August 11, 2025 will forever be a reminder of the day that I lost a big part of myself,” he said. “After many years, my big sister, Dr. Danielle Louise Spencer lost her battle with cancer. Many of you knew her as ‘Dee,’ but she was more than a child actress. She was a friend, an auntie to my three children who adored her, she was a daughter- and in many ways, my mother’s best friend, she was a v