After skyrocketing to stardom in the 1990s by landing the titular role in “Dawson’s Creek,” James Van Der Beek began a decades-spanning career in film, TV and on the stage.
On Wednesday, Feb. 11, James’ wife, Kimberly, shared an Instagram post announcing her husband died at age 48 amid his colorectal cancer battle.
Take a look at James Van Der Beek’s life in photos below:
After attending Duke University for a couple of years, James dropped out of college and landed the lead role of Dawson Leery in “Dawson’s Creek.”
He starred alongside Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams for six seasons from 1998 to 2003.
During his time on “Dawson’s Creek,” Van Der Beek landed the leading role in 1999’s “Varsity Blues” alongside Jon Voight and Paul Walker.
His “Varsity Blues” role won him an MTV Movie Award in 1999 for breakthrough male performance. That same year was the first-ever Teen Choice Awards, where he also went home a winner.
In 2002, Van Der Beek made the jump back into film for “The Rules of Attraction,” where he shared the screen with Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel and Kate Bosworth.
Once “Dawson’s Creek” ended in 2003, Van Der Beek returned to his theater roots to appear in an Off-Broadway production of “Rain Dance” with Randolph Mantooth and Jeff Daniels.
Following his split from first wife Heather McComb, James met his current wife, Kimberly, while on an organized trip to Israel in 2009. Shortly after, they tied the knot in August 2010.
In 2019, James Van Der Beek joined “Dancing with the Stars,” competing with pro-partner Emma Slater, making it far in the competition! They were eliminated just one week before the finale.
James and Kimberly welcomed six kids together. Their first born, Olivia, arrived just a week after they got married. Their family continued to grow, welcoming Joshua in 2012, Annabel Leah in 2014, Emilia in 2016, Gwendolyn in 2018 and Jeremiah in 2021, completing their family of eight.
Over the last decade, James appeared in numerous shows like “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23” from 2012 to 2013, several episodes of “How I Met Your Mother,” a recurring role in “CSI: Cyber” and in 2018 he played Matt Bromley on “Pose.” From 2017 to 2021 he was a voice actor for the animated series “Vampirina” and appeared in the Tubi original movie, “Sidelined: The QB and Me.”
In 2024, Van Der Beek revealed his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis, after noticing changes in his bowel movements in the summer of 2023. He was on the cover of People Magazine in November 2024, saying in the cover story, “This has been a crash course in the mastery of mind, body, and spirit. I thought, ‘This is either going to take me out of the body, or it’s going to teach me how to truly live in it.’”
In late 2024, Van Der Beek joined Anthony Anderson, Taye Diggs, Chris Jones, Tyler Posey and Bruno Tonioli to perform in “The Real Full Monty” special on Fox which was to raise awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer testing and research.
Last September, James was scheduled to reunite with his “Dawson’s Creek” co-stars for a charity event to benefit F Cancer, but he unfortunately had to drop out at the last minute due to an illness, opting instead to send a virtual message to be played for the fans that attended.
James Van Der Beek died on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at just 48 years old, 14 months after sharing his cancer diagnosis. His wife, Kimberly, shared the news on her Instagram page saying, “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come.”
RIP James, you will be missed.
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