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

James Van Der Beek, the actor best known for starring in Dawson’s Creek, has passed away. Though an official cause of death was not confirmed, the actor had been very public about his battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer, having been diagnosed in 2023. He was 48.

James’ wife, Kimberley, confirmed the news of his passing on social media, 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.”

James Van Der Beek Dies at 48

Born in Cheshire, Connecticut, in 1977, James Van Der Beek was a performer from a young age, acting in off-Broadway shows as a teenager and even making his feature film debut at 17 in the coming-of-age comedy, Angus. Though he appeared in episodes of As the World Turns and the Nickelodeon hit Clarissa Explains It All early in his career, his big break would come in 1998 with the premiere of Dawson’s Creek, the beloved teen drama created by Kevin Williamson that ran for six seasons on The WB. As the titular character, Van Der Beek quickly became a household name, appearing in nearly every episode of the series (and even making a cameo as his character in Scary Movie).

In fact, James Van Der Beek became such a ubiquitous piece of pop culture thanks to his role in Dawson’s Creek that he had multiple appearances in other projects where he played a fictionalized version of himself. The earliest of these was in Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but he would take it to an extreme level on the sitcom, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23. In that series, Van Der Beek was characterized as an actor looking to return to his former glory, a joke that saw him performing with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, and earning himself even more fans because of it.

Van Der Beek’s career wasn’t limited just to television, though many of his most famous roles originated on the small screen. Amid the debut of Dawson’s Creek, he would also star in one of his biggest feature film roles, playing Jonathan Moxon in the football dramedy, Varisty Blues.

As noted, James Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer on August 31, 2023, revealing it to the public in November of 2024. In the time since, Van Der Beek never shied away from talking about his condition, but also the financial burden that the illness created and the limitations that it put on him. Van Der Beek was forced to not attend a major cast reunion for Dawson’s Creek last September due to his illness, sending a pre-recorded video for the attendees. In an interview with the Today show in December, Van Der Beek revealed that he was able to watch the reunion via Zoom, calling the reaction from the fans in attendance “one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever gotten to witness.”

James Van Der Beek is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and six children, Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this time.

(Cover photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)