Overview

• Co-star Haywood Nelson announced on Instagram that Spencer died on August 11 in a Richmond, Virginia hospital with her mother and brother at her side, prompting an outpouring of tributes from cast and fans.
• Spencer rose to fame as Dee Thomas on ABC’s sitcom What’s Happening!! from 1976 to 1979 and reprised the role for the first-run syndication sequel What’s Happening Now!!.
• After leaving acting she earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tuskegee University in 1993 and practiced as a veterinarian for more than two decades.
• Her health was marred by a 1977 car crash that killed her stepfather and left her in a coma, followed by spinal paralysis, a 2014 breast cancer diagnosis and a 2018 brain surgery that spurred a GoFundMe to cover mounting medical bills.
• Her 2014 induction into the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture underscored her trailblazing status as one of television’s first prominent Black child actors.