Child Star Danielle Spencer From The ’70s Dead At Age 60

“What’s Happening!!” star Danielle Spencer died Monday night in a Richmond, Virginia, hospital at age 60 following complications from cancer, her co-star told TMZ.

The beloved actress was best known for playing Dee Thomas on the hit ’70s sitcom. Her death was announced by her longtime friend and co-star Haywood Nelson in a post shared Tuesday on Instagram.

“Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body,” Nelson wrote.

“We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.”

Nelson continued, “We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, ‘What’s Happening’ cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine. Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced.”

Haywood told TMZ he last spoke to Spencer just two weeks prior and said she came across as positive during their conversation. He said the actress passed with her jazz player brother Jeremy Pelt and her mother Cheryl beside her.

The actress received a breast cancer diagnosis and had a double mastectomy in 2014, according to the New York Post. She suffered another medical emergency in 2018 and underwent surgery to address bleeding on her brain.

SANTA MONICA, CA – MARCH 19: Actresses Alison Arngrim (R) and Danielle Spencer accept their award for Characters Most In Need of a Time Out Award onstage at the 2006 TV Land Awards at the Barker Hangar on March 19, 2006 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

ABC broadcasted “What’s Happening!!” ran from 1976 to 1979. The child star went on to reprise her iconic role in 1985 in the ’80s spin-off “What’s Happening Now!” before mostly leaving Hollywood to pursue her dreams of becoming a veterinarian. (RELATED: Kelly Clarkson’s Ex-Husband Brandon Blackstock Dies At 48)

Final arrangements have not been publicly disclosed.