James Van Der Beek died on Wednesday at the age of 48. The actor, who became a household name as the lead of the WB's "Dawson's Creek," had announced a Stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in early November 2024.
His wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, confirmed the news on Instagram:
"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."
She asked for privacy as the family grieves. Van Der Beek is survived by Kimberly and their six children.
Born March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, James David Van Der Beek found the stage early, appearing in school plays as a child before making his professional debut in an off-Broadway production of Edward Albee's "Finding the Sun." His first film credit came in 1995's "Angus," followed by "I Love You, I Love You Not" the following year.
Then came the role that changed everything, as NBC News reported. In 1998, "Dawson's Creek" premiered on the WB, and Van Der Beek's portrayal of Dawson Leery — the earnest, film-obsessed teenager navigating life in a small coastal town — struck a chord with millions of young viewers. The show ran for six seasons and 128 episodes before ending in May 2003. It launched careers alongside Van Der Beek's, with Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson all starring as series regulars.
Van Der Beek marked the show's 20th anniversary in a January 2018 Instagram post:
"The little pilot we shot in that small town for that fledgling network aired, changed our lives and launched our careers."
A year after "Dawson's Creek" debuted, Van Der Beek starred in "Varsity Blues" as a high school quarterback — a film that became its own kind of cultural touchstone. Cameos in "Scary Movie" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" followed in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
The trajectory of Van Der Beek's career after "Dawson's Creek" was the trajectory of an actor who refused to be defined by a single role — even if the world kept trying. He appeared across a wide range of television, with guest spots on "Criminal Minds," "Ugly Betty," "How I Met Your Mother," "One Tree Hill," "Medium," and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
In the early 2010s, he landed what many considered a creative high point: playing a fictionalized, self-mocking version of himself on ABC's "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23." He spoke about the role to The Hollywood Reporter in 2014:
"It was a really fun character to play because he was completely without shame. It's fun to mock the business, and it's fun to keep your own ego in check, too. You feel very safe when you're constantly destroying all those little things you keep precious as an actor. It's a very liberating feeling."
That willingness to laugh at himself — genuinely, not performatively — set him apart in an industry where ego is currency. He went on to star in CBS's "CSI: Cyber" for two seasons and appeared in the first season of FX's drama series "Pose."
In a 2024 interview with People magazine, Van Der Beek reflected on the peculiar intensity of the fame "Dawson's Creek" brought him as a young man:
"When it first started happening, the people who were coming up to me were teenage girls who were screaming."
He was characteristically honest — and funny — about the mark it left:
"I have what I call the lamest form of PTSD ever, which is when I hear teenage girls go, 'Oooh!' When I hear that titter, I go into a still space ... [then] I'm like: Dude, get over yourself."
Self-deprecation as a survival mechanism. It served him well.
On November 3, 2024, Van Der Beek revealed publicly that he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer. He had been fighting privately before making the announcement, a decision that itself reflected a kind of quiet dignity increasingly rare in an age where every personal crisis becomes a content strategy.
"I've been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before. Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support."
He was 47 at the time of that post. He was 48 when he died.
Colorectal cancer rates among younger adults have been climbing for years, and Van Der Beek's diagnosis — and now his death — puts a recognizable face on a disease that too many people still associate only with older generations. Forty-eight is not old. It is the age of fathers coaching Little League, of men in the prime of their professional lives, of husbands with six children who still need them.
There is something worth pausing over in Kimberly Van Der Beek's words. She did not describe her husband's final days with the language of victimhood or defiance that has become reflexive in public grief. She said he met them with courage, faith, and grace.
Those are not small words. They are the vocabulary of a man who understood that how you face the end matters — that character is not something you perform for an audience but something you carry into the rooms where no cameras follow.
James Van Der Beek made his mark playing a teenager who took everything too seriously. He spent the rest of his career proving he didn't have to. He leaves behind a family, a body of work, and the memory of a man who — by every account available — faced the hardest thing with the best of himself.
He was 48 years old.
