A reflection on the life, legacy, and resilience of the beloved Dee Thomas from What’s Happening!!
Born on June 24, 1965, in Trenton, New Jersey, Dr. Danielle Spencer was raised in the Bronx by her mother, Cheryl, and beloved stepfather, Tim Pelt. Her acting journey began early, joining a repertory company at age seven, fueled by Pelt’s encouragement.
For many Gen Xers, Saturday nights weren’t complete without a visit to Rob’s Place and a side-eye from Dee Thomas. Danielle Spencer, who brought Dee to life on What’s Happening!!, became a touchstone for quick wit and kid-truths that cut through grown-folk nonsense, especially with her catchphrase, “Ooooh, I’m gonna tell Mama!”. She reprised the character in the spin‑off What’s Happening Now!! during the mid‑1980s.
Danielle’s career spanned an array of television and film appearances, such as USA Network’s TV Land Confidential: The Untold Stories (2007), Peter Rabbit and the Crucifix (2001), NBC’s Days of Our Lives (2001), the feature film As Good As It Gets (1997), Soul Train (1987), The Family Feud (1979), Christmas at Walt Disney World (1978), The Tap Dance Kid (1978), and The Brady Bunch Special (1977).
In 1977, during the second season of What’s Happening!!, Danielle survived a devastating car accident that claimed her stepfather’s life and left her in a coma for three weeks. Though she recovered, the incident left enduring health challenges. It didn’t end there. Life tested her again with a diagnosis of spinal stenosis, resulting in surgery that left her partially paralyzed for eight months. Later in life, she battled breast cancer, undergoing a double mastectomy in 2014, and emergency brain surgery in 2018 for a hemorrhage. Despite these hardships, her courage remained unwavering.
After stepping away from acting, Danielle pursued a new calling, veterinary medicine. She earned her degree from Tuskegee University in 1996 and worked for many years as a caring veterinarian in Richmond, Virginia, often sharing her love for animals through local media.
After all she had endured, Dr, Danielle Spencer opened up to readers in her 2011 memoir, Through the Fire… Journal of a Child Star. The autobiography offers an unfiltered look at her unwavering determination and the drive that had fueled her ambitions since childhood.
In 2014, her trailblazing legacy was immortalized when she became the first former child star inducted into the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
On August 11, 2025, Danielle Spencer passed away in Richmond, Virginia, after a prolonged battle with cancer. She was 60 years old.
Her co-star Haywood Nelson delivered a moving tribute:
“Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior… has finally found her release… We celebrate Danielle Spencer… veterinarian, animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine.”
Dr. Danielle Spencer’s life reads like a three-act story: a childhood performance that still makes people smile, an adulthood spent healing living things, and a final chapter defined by grit and grace under pressure. For viewers who grew up with Dee, the loss is personal because she felt like family. Remembering Dr. Danielle Spencer is also a reminder of what television can do at its best, making a kid’s side-eye feel like truth, and turning an ordinary Saturday night into a shared cultural memory.
