James Van Der Beek arrives at the premiere of Prime Video series ‘Overcompensating’ at Hollywood Palladium on May 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
James Van Der Beek, the actor best known for starring in the teen TV drama Dawson’s Creek and films including Varsity Blues, has died. He was 48.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” reads a note posted on Van Der Beek’s Instagram page. “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.”
Van Der Beek revealed in a November 2024 Instagram post that he’d been diagnosed with cancer, stating that despite the diagnosis he was “in a good place and feeling strong.”
Later that month, the actor further revealed to People that he was battling Stage 3 colorectal cancer. Van Der Beek shared that he received the diagnosis after a colonoscopy.
In December 2024, Van Der Beek joined Good Morning America to discuss his mindset and emotional state during his ongoing battle with the disease.
“And thus began the full-time job of having cancer, signing up for all the various medical portals and getting on the phone with insurance and creating appointments. … I was not prepared for just how much of a full-time job that it really is,” Van Der Beek said.
“I’m going to make changes that I never would have made otherwise, that I’m going to look back on in 30 years and say, ‘Thank gGod this happened.’ So, what can I do right now in order to make that the case? And that’s how it was, about 90 percent of the time,” he went on. “But 10 percent of the time, I was a sobbing, terrified mess, which I feel like is a pretty good percentage.”
Born March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, Van Der Beek began acting while in middle school and made his professional debut at age 16 in a 1993 off-Broadway production in New York City. He continued to appear in various amateur and professional productions throughout high school and while attending New Jersey’s Drew University.
It was while he was a student at Drew in 1998 that Van Der Beek auditioned for and won the title role of Dawson Leery in The WB network’s new show Dawson’s Creek. Van Der Beek dropped out of Drew University to star in the show for the whole of its six-year run, opposite fellow cast members and future stars Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson.
“That was when life was at its craziest,” Van Der Beek said about his time on the hit show in a 2020 interview with Good Morning America. “At 20 years old I got stupidly lucky and found myself in a zeitgeist, cultural phenomenon TV show, and I was suddenly famous.”
Van Der Beek also admitted his sudden stardom was difficult to handle. “My reaction to fame was to run away from it,” he said, though looking back he said he would tell his younger self to “relax, be grateful, enjoy it.”
Despite having already begun a small film career with roles in films like the 1996 romantic drama I Love You, I Love You Not, which also starred Claire Danes, Julia Stiles and Jude Law, Van Der Beek’s Dawson’s Creek fame earned him the headlining role in the 1999 coming-of-age sports drama Varsity Blues. Van Der Beek’s character of Jonathan “Mox” Moxon, the backup quarterback on a small-town Texas high school football team, remains the film performance for which he’s best remembered. It also earned him the best breakout male performance award at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.
“It was a movie I really, really cared about, it was a role I really cared about,” Van Der Beek told Good Morning America. “It was a role I really had to fight for. I had to fight for that role, nobody wanted me for that role initially.”
The success of Varsity Blues led to roles in other films, including 2000’s horror film send-up Scary Movie, in which Van Der Beek made a cameo appearance as his Dawson’s Creek character, the 2001 Western Texas Rangers and the 2002 dark comedy Rules of Attraction. Later film roles included the 2009 thriller Formosa Betrayed, 2013’s Labor Day with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, and the 2019 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
Yet Van Der Beek remained a larger small-screen presence, appearing on dozens of hit TV shows over the years in starring or guest roles, including How I Met Your Mother, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, One Tree Hill,Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Cyber and Modern Family, as well as providing the voice of Boris Hauntley on the Disney animated children’s series Vampirina. Van Der Beek also placed fifth on season 28 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars in 2019. In 2025, he was announced as a recurring character on the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle.
In September 2025, the cast of Dawson’s Creekreunited for a one-night-only live reading of the show’s pilot episode to raise money for the nonprofit F Cancer and for Van Der Beek. A stomach virus prevented him from attending in person — Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda stepped into the role of Dawson Leery in Van Der Beek’s place — but he shared a video message in which he thanked those who attended and shared his disappointment for not being unable 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 was married twice. He’s survived by his wife, film producer Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.
James Van Der Beek arrives at the 71st Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 22, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. (Emma Mcintyre/Getty Images)
Stars of Dawson’s Creek are paying tribute to James Van Der Beek following his death.
The 48-year-old actor, who is known for playing the show’s titular character, Dawson Leery, died Wednesday morning following a battle with colorectal cancer.
His family shared the news on his official Instagram page. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.
Upon the news of his death, actors who starred alongside Van Der Beek in the hit WB teen drama, including Katie Holmes, Mary-Margaret Humes and Busy Philipps, took to social media to remember the actor.
Holmes shared a photo of a handwritten letter to Van Der Beek on Instagram, captioning the photo, “I formed some words with a heavy heart. This is a lot to process. I am so grateful to have shared in a piece of James’ journey. He is beloved. Kimberly, we love you and will be here always for you and your beautiful children.”
Philipps, who portrayed Audrey Liddell, wrote in her social media tribute: “My heart is deeply hurting for all of us today…every person who knew James and loved him, anyone who loved his work or had the pleasure of meeting him, all of his dear friends and community that surrounded him as he battled this illness, especially his parents and brother and sister.”
She went on to say she is “heartbroken” for Van Der Beek’s wife and children, and urged others to help them out via their GoFundMe.
“James Van Der Beek was one in a billion and he will be forever missed and i don’t know what else to say,” she added. “i am just so so sad. He was my friend and i loved him and i’m so grateful for our friendship all these years.”
Humes, who played Van Der Beek’s TV mom in the show, shared photos of herself with Van Der Beek and wrote she is at a “loss for words.”
“James, my gracious warrior, you fought a hard battle against all odds with such quiet strength and dignity,” she captioned the post on Instagram. “I will always love and admire you for that. Our last conversations … merely a few days ago … are forever sitting softly in my heart for safe keeping. To our extended Dawson’s Creek family of friends … please be respectful of our silences at the moment as Beautiful Kimberly and family have asked for peaceful privacy for now.”
The official Instagram page for Dawson’s Creek via Sony Pictures also addressed Van Der Beek’s death and remembered the actor for his iconic role as Leery.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of James Van Der Beek,” the show said. “His iconic portrayal of Dawson Leery helped define a generation of television for fans and continues to resonate with audiences today. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”
Additionally, stars across Hollywood began paying tribute to Van Der Beek and took to the comments section of his Instagram post to remember him, including Sarah Michelle Gellar.
“I’m so sad for your beautiful family,” Gellar commented on Van Der Beek’s Instagram post. “While James legacy will always live on, this is a huge loss to not just your family but the world. F*** cancer.”
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