“He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” the actor’s wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared on social media.

James Van Der Beek, star of Dawson’s Creek, dies at 48 following cancer battle

"He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace," the actor's wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared on social media.

By Jordan Hoffman

Jordan Hoffman

Jordan Hoffman is a writer at **, mostly covering nostalgia. He has been writing about entertainment since 2007.

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February 11, 2026 2:33 p.m. ET

James Van Der Beek on Nov. 18, 2024 in Los Angeles, Calif. Credit:

Andrew Toth/Getty

James Van Der Beek, who played a beloved teen heartthrob at the center of the late '90s and early aughts drama *Dawson’s Creek*, has died following a battle with colorectal cancer. He was 48.

The actor's wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared a statement on social media on Wednesday, Feb. 11, writing: "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. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend."

Van Der Beek first publicly announced his diagnosis in November 2024 and revealed he was "privately dealing" with his health after being officially diagnosed in 2023. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good," he said at the time.

The actor was born on March 8, 1977, and raised in Connecticut, the eldest of three children. His mother was a one-time professional dancer and gymnastics instructor, and his father was an executive at a mobile phone company. He began performing in school plays at a young age, and urged his parents to let him come into New York City to audition for shows. Van Der Beek began appearing in off-Broadway productions as a teenager and also appeared in some independent films. He attended Drew University in New Jersey on an academic scholarship, but continued to seek acting work. After being cast as Dawson Leery in *Dawson’s Creek,* Van Der Beek suspended his studies.

*Dawson’s Creek*, which costarred Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson, ran for six seasons beginning in 1998 and was a tremendous success for the WB, which had already found teen audiences with *7th Heaven *and *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*. Though shot in Wilmington, N.C., it was set in the fictional Capeside, Mass., and concerned itself with the heartache of young adulthood via a whirlwind of love polygons and featured a Paula Cole-sung theme song.

The cast of 'Dawson's Creek' season 3.

In an interview from 1998 with Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford, Van Der Beek said that what he liked about the show was that “it was very honest, and speaks very honestly about what [teens] are waking up and dealing with every day… dreams and aspirations.” He chuckled when Gifford referred to him as “the cute one,” and Philbin pretended not to understand that his character didn’t have a creek named after him. (Amusingly enough, Van Der Beek translates to “from the creek” from Dutch.)

As *Dawson’s Creek*’s second season aired, Van Der Beek, who was by then close to 22 years old, appeared in *Varsity Blues*, a high school football drama produced by MTV. The movie was a substantial box office hit and costarred Scott Caan, Paul Walker, and Jon Voight. Its soundtrack included “My Hero” by Foo Fighters and “Nice Guys Finish Last” by Green Day, and won Van Der Beek a Teen Choice Award as well as an MTV Movie Award.

James Van Der Beek dons 'Varsity Blues' jersey to raise money for cancer treatment: 'Endlessly grateful for all of you'

James Van Der Beek is auctioning off 'Dawson's Creek' and 'Varsity Blues' memorabilia to pay for cancer treatment

**During *Dawson’s Creek*’s run, which lasted until 2003, Van Der Beek secured his position as “a celeb with a sense of humor about himself,” making cameo appearances in *Scary Movie* and *Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back*. He also led the cast in Roger Avary’s adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis’ *The Rules of Attraction*. His character, Sean Bateman, was meant to be the younger brother of Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale in *American Psycho. *Both movies were received softly at the box office during their initial release, but became cult favorites years later.

In 2003, Van Der Beek married his first wife, actress Heather McComb, who appeared on *Party of Five*, a teen drama not entirely dissimilar to *Dawson’s Creek*.

He continued to appear in films and television throughout the aughts, landing a recurring role on *One Tree Hill*. In 2010, he married his second wife, producer Kimberly Van Der Beek, with whom he shared six children.

In 2011, he once again showed his willingness to poke fun at himself, making a Funny or Die video that acknowledged the popularity of the “Crying Dawson meme,” a reaction GIF of Dawson Leery’s sunken face upon learning that he had just been dissed by Holmes’ Joey. (Season 3, episode 23, if you forgot.)

'Varsity Blues' cast.

Deana Newcomb/Paramount

That sketch dovetailed nicely with his semi-regular appearances as a fictionalized version of himself in the broad ABC comedy *Don’t Trust The B—- in Apartment 23. *As seen on the show, “James Van Der Beek” is an arrogant narcissist trying to shed his public connection to *Dawson’s Creek* and revamp his career. This leads to a series of backfiring schemes and outlandish antics between him and Krysten Ritter’s Chloe, the titular “B” of the series. (There was a degree of truth to Van Der Beek’s relationship to the show that made him famous; in 2017, he showed some annoyance with interviewers who only wanted to talk about *Dawson’s Creek*, which led the actor to remind them that he’d done other things in the intervening years.)

After *Don’t Trust The B*’s two-season run, Van Der Beek made appearances on a *CSI *spinoff and in the underappreciated Matt Damon-led satire *Downsizing*. In 2017, he cocreated *What Would Diplo Do?* for Viceland, a cringe comedy in which he portrayed the real-life DJ Diplo getting into clumsy shenanigans. In 2018, he had a recurring role in the Ryan Murphy series *Pose*.

In 2025, he appeared in two episodes of the Benito Skinner college comedy series *Overcompensating* on Prime Video.**** He also competed on *Dancing With the Stars* in 2019, finishing in fifth place, and on *The Masked Singer* in 2025, getting eliminated sixth.**

James Van Der Beek and his six children.

James Van Der Beek/Instagram

Van Der Beek was first diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in late August 2023. He explained that he was having some troubling bowel movements and went for a colonoscopy to have it checked out. As he sought medical treatment, he helped raise awareness for cancer prevention, appearing alongside Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson, and others in a striptease fundraiser called *The Real Full Monty *in December 2024.

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The actor was unable to attend a *Dawson’s Creek* reunion/cancer charity event in New York City in September 2025. He sent *Hamilton *creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to fill in for him during a live read portion of the evening. He did, however, appear via a prerecorded video, saying that he “wanted to stand on that stage and thank every single person in this theater for being here tonight. From the cast to the crew to everybody who’s donated time and been so generous, and especially every single last one of you, the best fans in the world.”**

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