James Van Der Beek, best known for playing Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek, has died aged 48, three years after his cancer diagnosis.
His family confirmed he ‘passed away peacefully’ on the morning of February 11, but gave no cause of death.
In a statement shared to Variety, the family said: ‘Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace.
‘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 was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2023, undergoing a colonoscopy shortly afterwards.
He admitted he initially blamed issues with his bowel movements on the amount of coffee he’d been drinking.
Fellow 90s star Sarah Michelle Gellar shared a tribute to Van Der Beek, sayign she was ‘so sad’ for his ‘beautiful family’.
‘While James legacy will always live on, this is a huge loss to not just your family but the world. F**k Cancer,’ the Buffy legend added.
Rumer Willis said: ‘My dear wonderful friends I love you all, I am keeping you all in my heart. I’m so lucky to have had you in my life for so long. James set the bar as a husband and a father and big brother (to me) I am so grateful to have witnessed your love and respect and care for each other. Sending all the love and light to you all.’
His former Dancing With The Stars pro-partner Emma Slater penned: ‘I’m so devastated. He is and will always be family to me love you so much James.
‘The man that you are, you can be proud of. So grateful that I got to be there to say goodbye to you.’
‘I have colorectal cancer. 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 Magazine in November 2024.
In an emotional video posted to his Instagram account on his birthday, James spoke at length about how difficult he found the year after his diagnosis.
‘It’s my birthday, and it has been the hardest year of my life, and I wanted to share something that I learned with y’all,’ he began.
Talking of how he had come to define himself as a ‘strong, supportive husband, father and steward of the land,’ he spoke of how he’d been forced to look his own mortality in the eye.
‘I had to come nose to nose with death. And all those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me,’ James said.
He continued: ‘I was away for treatment, so I could no longer be a husband who was helpful to my wife. I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them. I could not be a provider because I wasn’t working.
‘I couldn’t even be a steward of the land because at times I was too weak to prune all the trees during the window that you’re supposed to prune them.’
Van Der Beek shared six children with his wife, Kimberly: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah.
The star rose to fame in the late 1990s, becoming best known for his leading role in the WB drama Dawson’s Creek.
Last year, he was forced to drop out of the reunion on medical grounds, with Lin-Manuel Miranda stepping in as his ‘understudy’.
He did make an appearance in a pre-recorded video, which was aired to the audience, who he thanked for supporting the show.
