After finding fame alongside fellow actors Mabel King (as Mabel Thomas) and Ernest Lee Thomas (as Roger Thomas) as the busybody little sister of her brother Roger, Spencer-David moved on from Hollywood sitcom fame to become a veterinarian and resident of Richmond, Virginia. Though Danielle Spencer was born in New Jersey and her family later moved to the Bronx, she made her way to Virginia.
Spencer became a veterinarian in 1996 after earning a degree at Tuskegee University Veterinary School.
What’s happening!! ran on ABC from 1976 until 1979 and was a hit that remains well-remembered and watched in reruns. There was also a revival of the show from 1985 to 1988 that Spencer starred in. After an earlier divorce, she married businessman David L. David in 2014. She also moved to Richmond that year and hosted segments on pet care on WTVR.
An Instagram post from What’s Happening!! costar Haywood Nelson (who played Dwayne Nelson), read: Brilliance! It comes in a great many forms. We all have them, and we all have this family — Dr. Danielle Spencer (June 24, 1965 – August 11, 2025).
In 2014, Spencer became the only former child actor to be honored in a permanent exhibition at Blacksonian (aka: National Museum of African American History and Culture). In late Sept. 2014 she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Dr. Danielle Spencer-David was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
