James Van Der Beek, who performed a beloved teen heartthrob on the middle of the late '90s and early aughts drama Dawson’s Creek, has died following a battle with colorectal most cancers. He was 48.

The actor's spouse, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared an announcement on social media on Wednesday, Feb. 11, writing: "Our beloved James David Van Der Beek handed peacefully this morning. He met his ultimate days with braveness, religion, and style. There may be a lot to share relating to his needs, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. These days will come. For now we ask for peaceable privateness as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and pal."

Van Der Beek first publicly introduced his prognosis in November 2024 and revealed he was "privately dealing" along with his well being after being formally identified in 2023. “There’s cause for optimism, and I’m feeling good," he mentioned on the time.

The actor was born on March 8, 1977, and raised in Connecticut, the eldest of three youngsters. His mom was a one-time skilled dancer and gymnastics teacher, and his father was an government at a cell phone firm. He started performing in class performs at a younger age, and urged his mother and father to let him come into New York Metropolis to audition for exhibits. Van Der Beek started showing in off-Broadway productions as a youngster and in addition appeared in some unbiased movies. He attended Drew College in New Jersey on an instructional scholarship, however continued to hunt appearing work. After being forged as Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek, Van Der Beek suspended his research.

Dawson’s Creek, which costarred Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson, ran for six seasons starting in 1998 and was an amazing success for The WB, which had already discovered teen audiences with seventh Heaven and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although shot in Wilmington, N.C., it was set within the fictional Capeside, Mass., and anxious itself with the heartache of younger maturity through a whirlwind of affection polygons and featured a Paula Cole-sung theme tune.

In an interview from 1998 with Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford, Van Der Beek mentioned that what he appreciated concerning the present was that “it was very trustworthy, and speaks very truthfully about what [teens] are waking up and coping with day-after-day… goals and aspirations.” He chuckled when Gifford referred to him as “the lovable one,” and Philbin pretended to not perceive that his character didn’t have a creek named after him. (Amusingly sufficient, Van Der Beek interprets to “from the creek” from Dutch.)

As Dawson’s Creek’s second season aired, Van Der Beek, who was by then near 22 years previous, appeared in Varsity Blues, a highschool soccer drama produced by MTV. The film was a considerable field workplace hit and costarred Scott Caan, Paul Walker, and Jon Voight. Its soundtrack included “My Hero” by Foo Fighters and “Good Guys End Final” by Inexperienced Day, and gained Van Der Beek a Teen Selection Award in addition to an MTV Film 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

Throughout Dawson’s Creek’s run, which lasted till 2003, Van Der Beek secured his place as “a celeb with a humorousness about himself,” making cameo appearances in Scary Film and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Again. He additionally led the forged in Roger Avary’s adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis’ The Guidelines of Attraction. His character, Sean Bateman, was meant to be the youthful brother of Patrick Bateman, performed by Christian Bale in American Psycho. Each films had been obtained softly on the field workplace throughout their preliminary launch, however grew to become cult favorites years later.

In 2003, Van Der Beek married his first spouse, actress Heather McComb, who appeared on Social gathering of 5, a teen drama not fully dissimilar to Dawson’s Creek.

He continued to look in movies and tv all through the aughts, touchdown a recurring function on One Tree Hill. In 2010, he married his second spouse, producer Kimberly Van Der Beek, with whom he shared six youngsters.

In 2011, he as soon as once more confirmed his willingness to poke enjoyable at himself, making a Humorous or Die video that acknowledged the recognition of the “Crying Dawson meme,” a response GIF of Dawson Leery’s sunken face upon studying that he had simply been dissed by Holmes’ Joey. (Season 3, episode 23, if you happen to forgot.)

That sketch dovetailed properly along with his semi-regular appearances as a fictionalized model of himself within the broad ABC comedy Don’t Belief The B—- in Condominium 23. As seen on the present, “James Van Der Beek” is an conceited narcissist making an attempt to shed his public connection to Dawson’s Creek and revamp his profession. This results in a sequence of backfiring schemes and outlandish antics between him and Krysten Ritter’s Chloe, the titular “B” of the sequence. (There was a level of reality to Van Der Beek’s relationship to the present that made him well-known; in 2017, he confirmed some annoyance with interviewers who solely wished to speak about Dawson’s Creek, which led the actor to remind them that he’d executed different issues within the intervening years.)

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

In 2025, he appeared in two episodes of the Benito Skinner school comedy sequence Overcompensating on Prime Video.
He additionally competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2019, ending in fifth place, and on The Masked Singer in 2025, getting eradicated sixth.

Van Der Beek was first identified with stage 3 colorectal most cancers in late August 2023. He defined that he was having some troubling bowel actions and went for a colonoscopy to have it checked out. As he sought medical therapy, he helped increase consciousness for most cancers prevention, showing alongside Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson, and others in a striptease fundraiser known as The Actual Full Monty in December 2024.

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The actor was unable to attend a Dawson’s Creek reunion/most cancers charity occasion in New York Metropolis in September 2025. He despatched Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to fill in for him throughout a reside learn portion of the night. He did, nevertheless, seem through a prerecorded video, saying that he “wished to face on that stage and thank each single individual on this theater for being right here tonight. From the forged to the crew to everyone who’s donated time and been so beneficiant, and particularly each single final one in all you, the perfect followers on the planet.”

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