James Van Der Beek passed away Feb. 11, 2026, after two years of fighting Stage 3 colorectal cancer. The 48-year-old actor left behind six children — Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 8, Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 3 — and his cherished wife, Kimberly.
Van Der Beek is popularly known for his early role in the teen drama, “Dawson’s Creek” from 1998 through 2003, along with the 1999 football movie “Varsity Blues,” other movies and shows, including a 2025 appearance on “The Masked Singer.”
But this father and husband deserves to be known for something far more important than Hollywood plaudits, since his love of faith and family continue to touch many people who knew him.
The diagnosis
After first experiencing symptoms in 2023 when he was 45, Van Der Beek eventually revealed on Nov. 3, 2024, that he had ”been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family.”
He admitted at the time, “I’d always associated cancer with age and with unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles. But I was in amazing cardiovascular shape. I tried to eat healthy — or as far as I knew it at the time.”
In a December 2025 “Today” interview, Van Der Beek recalled first learning of his cancer diagnosis. “As soon as I heard the news, I thought, ‘This is going to be the best thing that ever happened to me.’”
The actor described “this little voice in my head” telling him that he was going to “make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn’t have this extreme of a diagnosis.”
Cancer “changes everything” he said. “It will change the way I live for the rest of my life.”
“This has been a crash course in the mastery of mind, body, and spirit,” Van Der Beek told People magazine in November 2024. “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.’”
Among those changes was adjusting his pace of life, with the actor admitting that before his diagnosis, “I don’t think I knew what it was to slow down before.”
“Before cancer, I took all these little, beautiful moments as part of a collective — I was just aware of everything,” Van Der Beek said. “And now, I’m able, much more, to just (be) so into that exact moment.”
“Presence is the gift cancer has given me.”
A faith reborn
Before learning about his cancer, Van Der Beek said, “God was something I tried to fit into my life as much as possible.” Afterward, the actor came to feel “a connection to God — whatever that is — is kind of the whole point of this exercise on this planet.”
When his wife, Kimberly, announced the actor’s passing on Instagram, she wrote, “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” she wrote. “There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come.”
In December, Van Der Beek said, “It’s been overwhelming to stop and look around — and have so many people tell me ‘I’m praying for you.’”
“‘I’m wishing you the best. How are you doing?’ I never expected that.”
Treasuring his wife and children
When asked by Today’s Craig Melvin how his wife and kids have helped him on his cancer journey, the actor responded, “I would not be alive if it weren’t for my wife.”
“She’s just stepped up as a caretaker, a nurse, as head of the household.”
In an August 2025 interview with Parade Magazine, Van Der Beek described how cancer had strengthened his relationship with his wife of 15 years, saying, “I’m more in love than ever, and more in awe of her than ever, and how she’s able to handle everything that I had to drop when I got diagnosed, and everything that she does, and just what it is to be that loved by somebody.”
“It’s really been an absolute gift.”
In November 2024, Van Der Beek wrote, “I’m beyond thankful the little blond army of hearts who keep me present, active, and inspired just by being you. I love you guys beyond.”
In August 2025, the actor described hugs from his children as “the most healing thing” he “could possibly get.”
“I really feel like that’s the best medicine, to be around all that love and just to see their support and to show them.”
“Outnumbered by kids, outnumbered by girls, outlandishly grateful and thrilled,” Van Der Beek wrote after the birth of his third child.
“Being a father has been the most treasured honor of my life,” he wrote in June 2025. “Thank you to my kids for re-teaching me how to live, laugh, love, and show up in my own life and in the world.”
Then, he added, “And thank you to my super hero of a wife, Kimberly, who constantly exceeds the boundaries of what I thought was human capacity. I love you all with all my heart.”
Close friend, Stacy Keibler, praised the late actor for being an “incredible husband” to his wife and “extraordinary dad” to their six children.
Cherished friends
About his “amazing group of friends and family who had all been wanting to show up for me,” Van Der Beek admitted in August that despite this “blessing,” he hadn’t let them help before because he was “trying to be Superman.”
“And so I was robbing them of a chance to show me how much they cared.” It’s been a “game changer” the actor said, to “be the guy who also asks for help when he needs it.”
Mehcad Brooks, a longtime friend of Van Der Beek, shared glimpses of the actor’s final days. “One of the greatest honors of my life, I got to be there (the) last four to five days, every day, and hold his hand, and pray with him, and tell him jokes, and tell him how much I love him, and sing to him.”
“I love you so much, brother. Hug your family tight. Hug your loved ones tight. Love your life …. Smile when you can. Figure out what’s important and embrace it and hold on tight.”
Keibler shared a photo via Instagram of her last visit with Van Der Beek, kneeling next to the frail actor in a wheelchair while they watched the sunset: “Spending these final days with you has been a true gift from God. I have never been so present in my life.”
“When you know time is sacred, you don’t waste a single breath,” she wrote. “You don’t rush. You don’t scroll. You don’t worry about tomorrow. You sit. You listen. You hold hands. You watch the sky change colors and you let it change you too.”
Keibler wrote that her time with the actor showed her “what it looks like to trust God’s plan,” concluding: “Love the people in front of you. Say the words. Watch the sunset. Trust God, even when you don’t understand.”
Financial challenges
Over recent years, Van Der Beek admitted to financial challenges facing his family due to treatment costs and being unable to work. In December, the actor felt compelled to sell off memorabilia from the set of Dawson’s Creek, bringing in $47,000.
In September 2025 the actor’s earlier Dawson’s Creek co-stars organized a cast reunion at Richard Rodgers Theater to rally and help raise funds for their friend.
After his passing, friends also set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising funds to support the late actor’s children.
“The costs of James’s medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds,” the page says. “They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time.”
“Your generosity will help cover essential living expenses, pay bills, and support the children’s education.”
The fund has raised more than $2.3 million dollars.