James Van Der Beek has died at age 48 after his public cancer battle.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” a statement shared via the actor’s Instagram on Wednesday, February 11, read. “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.”
The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Van Der Beek was pronounced dead at 6:44 a.m. on Wednesday. A medical professional made the call to their office.
Van Der Beek announced his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2024.
“I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” he told People at the time. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”
Van Der Beek first noticed symptoms in 2023, and doctors ultimately discovered the cancer during a colonoscopy.
Shortly after publicly sharing his diagnosis, Van Der Beek told People he had “a lot to live for,” adding, “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 March 2025, Van Der Beek told Extra that he could “see the finish line” of his cancer battle, explaining that he was “in a healing phase.”
However, Van Der Beek suffered a health setback in September 2025 when he was forced to miss a reunion with his Dawson’s Creek costars, which Michelle Williams organized to benefit the actor and the nonprofit charity, F Cancer, which fights cancer by raising awareness with an emphasis on early detection.
“You can imagine how gutted I was when two stomach viruses conspired to knock me out of commission and keep me grounded at the worst possible moment,” he wrote via Instagram one day before the event. “Despite every effort … I won’t get to be there. 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.”
Van Der Beek later made a virtual appearance at the reunion, in which he thanked his Dawson’s Creek costars and fans for their support.
Born in Connecticut in March 1977, Van Der Beek took an interest in acting at a young age when he appeared in various school plays. He ultimately decided to pursue a professional entertainment career at 15 years old and made his film debut in 1995’s Angus at age 17.
Van Der Beek skyrocketed to fame in the title role of Dawson Leery on the WB teen drama Dawson’s Creek, which ran for six seasons from 1998 to 2003.
Outside of his career-making performance on Dawson’s Creek, Van Der Beek had memorable roles in the 1999 film Varsity Blues and the TV shows Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 from 2012 to 2014, CSI: Cyber from 2015 to 2016 and Pose in 2018. He also competed on season 28 of Dancing With the Stars in 2019, finishing in fifth place.
James is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek — whom he married in August 2010 — and their six children, daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia and Gwendolyn and sons Joshua and Jeremiah.
