James Van Der Beek, ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Star, Dead at 48

James Van Der Beek has died at the age of 48.

“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” a statement on his Instagram read. “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. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”

On Wednesday, February 11, TMZ reported that a representative for the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office said the actor’s death was reported to them at 6:44 a.m.

His cause of death was not immediately available; however, the actor was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in August 2023. He made his diagnosis public in November 2024. In recent months, he was scheduled to reunite with his fellow Dawson’s Creek cast members in September, but dropped out at the last minute.

Van Der Beek rose to fame in the late 90s as the face of Dawson’s Creek, and went on to build a career that spanned film, television, and stage, while also embracing family life and resilience in the face of health challenges.

Born on March 8, 1977, in Connecticut, Van Der Beek initially dreamed of becoming an athlete, he told ABC News. But at 17, he was cast in a production of Shenandoah at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, and soon after landed a part in the 1995 film “Angus” alongside Kathy Bates and Ariana Richards.

By age 20, he had booked the role that would define his early career: Dawson Leery on Dawson’s Creek.

The series ran from 1998 to 2003 and launched the careers of co-stars Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson.

While starring on the show, Van Der Beek also broke into film, headlining the 1999 hit Varsity Blues opposite Jon Voight and Paul Walker. His career later expanded into a mix of television roles and stage appearances, including a turn on Dancing with the Stars in 2019, where he competed with professional partner Emma Slater and reached the semifinals.

Van Der Beek’s personal life has been just as eventful. After divorcing actress Heather McComb, he met his second wife, Kimberly, on a trip to Israel in 2009. The two married in Israel the following year. Together, they welcomed six children: Olivia in 2010, Joshua in 2012, Annabel Leah in 2014, Emilia in 2016, Gwendolyn in 2018, and Jeremiah in 2021.

“We’ve gone through success, tragedy, joy, stress, triumph, uncertainty, and through it all… these have been the best years of my life,” Van Der Beek wrote in a 2023 anniversary post on Instagram.

In 2024, Van Der Beek revealed to People that he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer at 46, after noticing changes in his health the year prior.

“This has been a crash course in the mastery of mind, body, and spirit,” he told the outlet at the time.. “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 September 2025, the Dawson’s Creek reunion carried a bittersweet tone with Van Der Beek too sick to attend. Cast members — including Williams, Holmes, Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, and Busy Philipps — came together for a live reading of the show’s pilot episode at Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City, in partnership with F Cancer.