“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” read a statement shared on the actor’s official Instagram account. The family asked for privacy as they mourn “our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
In November 2024, Van Der Beek revealed that he had been diagnosed with bowel cancer. He made the disclosure ahead of his participation in the US charity television special The Real Full Monty, in which celebrities strip to raise awareness of cancer. A year later, in November 2025, the actor said he planned to auction memorabilia and personal items from his film and television career to help fund his treatment.
Born in Connecticut in 1977, Van Der Beek initially focused on sports before turning to acting after a childhood football accident left him with a severe concussion. During his recovery, he discovered a passion for performance and landed his first major role as Danny Zuko in a school production of Grease.
He rose to international fame in 1998 when he was cast as Dawson Leery, the film-obsessed teenager at the center of Dawson’s Creek. The series became a cultural phenomenon, and later that year Van Der Beek was named one of People magazine’s Most Beautiful People in the World. Reflecting on the show’s debut 25 years later, he wrote that his life had changed “instantly,” marking the culmination of years of auditions and rejection.
Despite his success, Van Der Beek later admitted that the pressures of sudden fame were difficult to manage. He said that public attention often escalated into chaotic situations, particularly with fans, and acknowledged the personal toll of early celebrity.
Beyond Dawson’s Creek, Van Der Beek appeared in a range of film and television roles. He starred in the American football drama Varsity Blues alongside Paul Walker and played Sean Bateman in The Rules of Attraction, based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. In later years, he embraced self-aware and comedic roles, including appearances in Scary Movie, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, and several viral sketches for the comedy site Funny or Die.
Van Der Beek is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and their six children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah.
