Danielle Spencer, Sister Dee Actress, Cause Of Death: Remembering Her Most Iconic Role

Danielle Spencer, best known for her unforgettable role as Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom 'What's Happening!!', has died at the age of 60.

According to reports, her publicist confirmed she passed away on Monday at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, due to gastric cancer and cardiac arrest.

Spencer's portrayal of Dee, who was the sharp-tongued, witty younger sister, left an indelible mark on American television. Her catchphrase, 'Ooh, I'm gonna tell Mama,' became the line of the era and still echoes among fans nearly five decades later.

An Iconic Role That Resonated

What's Happening!! aired on ABC from 1976 to 1979 and was one of the first American TV shows to centre the experiences of Black teenagers. Loosely inspired by the 1975 film Cooley High, the sitcom followed the lives of Raj, Rerun and Dwayne as they navigated adolescence in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Watts.

In the show, Spencer played the character of Dee, the sarcastic younger sister of Raj (Ernest Thomas), delivering one-liners and roasts with a deadpan stare that became her signature. Her chemistry with the cast, particularly with Thomas, Haywood Nelson (Dwayne) and Fred Berry (Rerun), helped shape a series that continues to resonate with audiences.

'I had never seen any young Black girl in that type of spotlight,' Spencer said in a 2014 interview with Jet Magazine. 'So I used my own family as the reference on how to portray my character.'

Though her role as Dee brought her early fame, Spencer later reflected that the character wasn't entirely based on her real-life personality. 'I did not have an older brother,' she told a Richmond CBS affiliate in 2016. 'But I had a lot of pent-up sassiness because I wanted to be like that.'

A Life Marked by Triumph and Tragedy

Spencer's journey in the public eye wasn't without hardship. In 1977, during the early production of What's Happening!!, she and her stepfather, Tim Pelt, were involved in a serious car crash on the Pacific Coast Highway. Pelt was killed, and Spencer fell into a coma for three weeks. The accident left her with long-term spinal and neurological damage and a trauma which haunted her for life.

Decades later, she would face additional health challenges. In 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. Four years after that, she required emergency brain surgery for a bleeding hematoma, a complication tied back to the 1977 crash. By 2004, she was using a wheelchair and had to relearn how to walk.

'They didn't want me to think of suicide even though I had considered it,' she said in a 2016 interview with the Oprah Winfrey Network. 'My family really got me through.'

When Spencer Left Hollywood to Become a Veterinarian

Following her years in television, Spencer stepped away from the limelight and pursued her lifelong passion, which was animal care. Her first step towards that goal was to pursue a degree, hence she studied Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, and later at Tuskegee University, where she earned her doctorate in 1993.

'I've always loved animals,' she told The Washington Informer in 2013. 'It's a lot of fun and very rewarding work.'

Danielle briefly returned to acting, including a cameo as a veterinarian in the 1997 film As Good as It Gets starring Jack Nicholson, but she largely devoted her professional life to veterinary medicine and caring for animals.

In 2016, Spencer was inducted into the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. That honour recognised her role in What's Happening !! as one of the earliest Black female child stars on American television.

She is survived by her mother, Cheryl Pelt, and her brother, Jeremy Pelt.