Following her starring role as Dee Thomas on ABC’s “What’s Happening!!” a lot has happened in the life of actress Danielle Spencer. Discover her adventures.
American actress Danielle Spencer is a former child star best known for starring as Dee Thomas on the ABC sitcom “What’s Happening!!,” which ran from 1976 to 1979.
Born June 24, 1965, to Cheryl Pelt, Spencer’s mother. She divorced her husband in early childhood. Therefore, Spencer considers Tim Pelt her stepdad.
Spencer began acting when she was about eight years old and started taking acting classes. After securing the role of Dee Thomas, in 1976, Spencer and her stepdad were involved in a car accident during the series’ second season.
Tim was trying to save Spencer when he was involved in an accident. Spencer was left in a three-week coma. After being released from the coma, she was unable to remember the crash and spent six long months recovering.
When “What’s Happening!!” was canceled in 1979, Spencer and her mom moved to Africa for a while. She returned to California and received a degree from the University of California Davis in veterinary medicine.
In 1985, she reprised her role as Dee in various episodes of the sequel of “What’s Happening!!” titled “What’s Happening Now!!” while attending college.
When the sequel series was canceled in 1988, she attended Tuskegee University Veterinary School in Tuskegee, Alabama, and became a veterinarian in 1996.
Spencer’s battle with stenosis was not over.
Spencer’s passion for veterinary medicine was inspired in part by her stepfather. However, she knew all along that she wanted to work with animals.
She has always loved animals, as they were some of her best friends growing up. Spencer was happy to become a veterinarian and believes it is good to be making a living doing something she loves.
In 1997, she portrayed a veterinarian in the hit movie “As Good as it Gets.” She also appeared in the 2001 film “Peter Rabbit and the Crucifix.” Although she is very focused on her veterinary practice, she usually acts in small roles when they do not conflict with her practice.
Spencer was in a three-week coma after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis ten years ago, just after she started her veterinary practice.
Although she had surgery to correct the problem, she was partially paralyzed for eight months. The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, New Jersey was where the actress-turned veterinarian was treated. It saved her life.
In an interview, she stated that her battle with stenosis helped her change her view on animal care. Instead of treating their pain, she now focuses on their underlying causes.
Spencer’s recovery from the stenosis didn’t mean she was free of health problems. In September 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was shocked to learn of her diagnosis.
After her experience with stenosis, she thought God would not give her another condition. She was therefore shocked to learn that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The former child star is devoted to volunteering with a charity.
But she stated that she had a lot of support and she considered all options. Spencer hoped that her cancer diagnosis would not require chemotherapy or radiation.
The veterinary doctor performed a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation for her breast cancer. She was then declared cancer-free. But, she was not the only one with health issues.
She had brain surgery in 2018 to correct a bleeding hematoma that she suffered from a childhood accident. After the surgery, she left the hospital to her home in Virginia, where she recuperated. Friends started a GoFundMe appeal on her behalf for financial assistance.
Despite the health challenges she faced, Spencer maintained a positive outlook and once stated that she was able to accept that her back pain, surgeries, and daily walking with crutches would be part of her future.
These challenges don’t mean that Spencer wouldn’t have reasons to celebrate. The former child star is now a volunteer with a charity that helps the homeless. She also provides care to animals through her veterinary clinic.
Spencer’s efforts have been recognized. In September 2016, she was inducted into the Smithsonian National Museum of African History and Culture in Washington D.C., which acknowledged her as the youngest African-American female child star on a TV sitcom.
She now has a permanent exhibit at the African American Cultural Museum in Washington.
She was thrilled by the opportunity and hoped to inspire others to follow their dreams.
Spencer is also an author and wrote the book “Through The Fire… Journal of a child star,” published in 2011. The book offers a glimpse into her childhood as a child actor.
In “Through The Fire,” Spencer narrates her academic and physical challenges and how she relied on her inner strength and spirituality to overcome tough times.
In addition to showing her humor, she also shared stories from her childhood which reminded people of Dee Thomas’s.
Through the book, more people took an interest in Spencer, leading to her appearing on “The Wendy Williams Show,” and the TV series “Life After” and “Unsung Hollywood” with her former castmates.
Spencer enjoys photographing beautiful flowers, butterflies, and small animals in her spare time. The VCU medical center in Richmond, Virginia hosted the first professional viewing of Spencer’s photographs.
She was thrilled by the occasion and hoped to inspire others to follow their dreams. Spencer has an Instagram account with over 3k followers.
She hasn’t been active on social media since June 2018, when her last post was. She has only been married once to Garry Fields in her entire life. They got married in 1999 and divorced in 2013.