James Van Der Beek, the “Dawson’s Creek” actor who had recently been battling colorectal cancer, has died. He was 48.
Van Der Beek revealed his diagnosis in November 2024 and missed a reunion event for the show last September, but his cause of death was not publicly confirmed.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” read a statement shared Wednesday on Van Der Beek’s Instagram page. “He met his final days with courage, faith and grace.”
In addition to “Dawson’s Creek,” Van Der Beek starred in “Scary Movie,” “Varsity Blues” and “The Rules of Attraction,” but he remained best known for his breakout role in the turn of the century TV series.
“There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time,” the social media statement read. “Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
Born March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Conn., Van Der Beek began his career with theater productions in New York City. When he was still a teenager, he landed his career-defining role as the title character, Dawson Leery, in “Dawson’s Creek.”
Starring opposite Katie Holmes and with his dashing good looks, Van Der Beek quickly became a teen heartthrob on the coming-of-age series, which ran for six seasons from 1998 to 2003.
“I used to tell my friends that the most famous I ever wanted to get was ‘Mandy Patinkin famous.’ He was in ‘The Princess Bride,’ he was awesome, he did a lot of theater, he won Tonys,” Van Der Beek told Vulture in a 2013 interview. “I was like, ‘That’s the career I want. That’d be great.’ Then I became super-famous at age 20 and completely blew that one.”
After “Dawson’s Creek” ended, Van Der Beek starred in several films and popped up in other places but never re-created the stardom he first achieved as a teenager. However, he maintained a good-natured attitude about things, appearing as fictionalized versions of himself in several projects, including the ABC sitcom “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23,” which ran for two seasons.
“You’re kind of lucky enough when you’re part of something that hits or catches on in popular culture, and all of a sudden people are asking you to play ‘You,’” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2011. “I try not to take myself too seriously. Maybe I’m the only idiot who gets these things suggested to him.”
Van Der Beek and his second wife, Kimberly, had six children together. The duo married in 2010, shortly after his first marriage dissolved. He was also very open publicly about his cancer diagnosis, starting a fundraiser for his own bills and to help others shortly after announcing his diagnosis.
“Despite every effort … I won’t get to be there,” Van Der Beek wrote when revealing he’d miss the “Dawson’s Creek” reunion. “I won’t get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most.”
