James Van Der Beek, the American actor best known for his starring role in the 90’s phenomenon series, Dawson’s Creek, has died at the age of 48. The star had revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer, according to The Guardian.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed away peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith and dignity”says a message published on Wednesday on the actor’s official Instagram page.
“There is much to be said about his desires, his love for people and how sacred he held time. The time for those confessions will come. For now, please respect our privacy so we can mourn our beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend.”
In November 2024, Van Der Beek revealed that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer while preparing to appear on the American charity show The Real Full Monty. Inspired by the famous British film The Full Monty, the program brought to the stage several stars who gave up their clothes to draw attention to cancer. In November 2025, the actor announced that he intends to auction memorabilia and “treasures” kept from the time he worked on series and movies, to finance his treatment.
Born in Connecticut in 1977, Van Der Beek was initially more attracted to sports than the arts, but a childhood football accident left him with a severe concussion. Doctors advised him to avoid sports for a year, and he soon turned his attention to acting, being cast as the lead, Danny Zuko, in a school production of the musical Grease.
He rose to fame in 1998 with the role of Dawson Leery, the film-obsessed teenager as obsessed with Steven Spielberg as he was with his neighbor and childhood sweetheart, Joey Potter (played by Katie Holmes). Later that same year, People magazine included him in the list “The most beautiful people in the world”.
The pressure of celebrity proved difficult to handle at such a young age. After Dawson’s Creek became a huge success, the actor stated in an interview: “At that time it was very difficult to walk down the street, because an autograph could quickly degenerate into a stampede. So I walked around in fear of teenage fans.”
James Van Der Beek leaves behind his wife, Kimberly, and their six children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.
