James Van Der Beek’s final Instagram post saw the actor pay touching tribute to his daughter Annabel on her 12th birthday.
Overnight news broke that the Dawson’s Creek actor had died aged 48, three years after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six kids: Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 9, Gwendolyn, 7, and Jeremiah, 4.
A few weeks ago, on Sunday January 25, the actor had shared a photo of himself hugging Annabel to celebrate her birthday, which she also shares with her grandfather, James’ dad.
‘My father and my daughter share a birthday today. At first, I thought that was all they shared – they seemed so different to me,’ he captioned the post, which also included a photo of his daughter with his dad, James William.
‘But as the two of you have evolved, and let more of who you are shine through, I can recognise the same open, warm, loving, gentle heart. I see the care and dedication you shower upon those you love most.
‘I see the same out-of-the-box Aquarian creativity and originality. And you both make every room you’re in more fun. Different senses of humour, but you both have a way of alchemizing the vibe around you in such a subtle way one can almost miss how powerfully you do this.
‘In this crazy world, it’s a wonder to me that you’ve managed to stay so open, so tender, and so genuinely good.’
He concluded the post by writing: ‘You are marvels… and I’m so insanely grateful to have you in my life. The world is a better place because the two of you are in it. Happy birthday, guys. I love you with all my heart ❤️’
Kimberly’s most recent Instagram post was from December last year, when she shared a photo of herself with her husband and wrote: ‘Me and my bae.’
Van Der Beek was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2023, later going on to share the news publicly in November 2024.
‘I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,’ he said at the time.
In September last year he was forced to pull out of a Dawson’s Creek reunion charity event in New York City, but he sent a surprise video message to guests, while his wife and their kids attended in person.
In one of his final interviews – with Today in December – the actor shared that he felt ‘much, much better than I did a couple months ago’. ‘It’s been a longer journey than I ever thought it would be. It’s required more of me – more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong – I didn’t know I was this strong. But I feel good.’
The news of his death was announced on Instagram on Wednesday night, with a statement that read: ‘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.’
Who was James Van Der Beek married to, and how many children did they have?
James David Van Der Beek was born in 1977 in Cheshire, Connecticut, the eldest of three children of Melinda, who died in 2020, a dancer and gymnastics teacher, and James William Van Der Beek, a cellular phone company executive.
The actor was previously married to Heather McCob, an actress best known for appearing in Party of Five and Profiler.
They were married from 2003 until their separation in April 2009.
Just over a year later, he married business consultant Kimberly Brook on August 1, 2010, in a small ceremony at the Kabbalah Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
In an Instagram post in 2020, Van Der Beek detailed their first meeting and whirlwind start to their relationship.
‘I was in Israel, on a trip with an organised group, when it hit me: I was done being single,’ he shared.
‘I wanted a real relationship. A soul mate. Someone with whom I could build a family. I was mid-revelation, rattling all this off to a friend of mine when a voice interrupted us, wanting to ask him a question. I was annoyed. Who the hell was stepping all over my moment?’
That voice belonged to Kimberly. ‘Three days later, I asked her what she was looking for in a relationship. Her answer: “I’m not looking for a relationship.’ Six months later we were living together. Two weeks after that we were pregnant, and almost exactly one year to the date after she’d first interrupted me…we were married.’
The couple went on to welcome six children – Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah.
What had he said about his family?
Over the years, Van Der Beek had regularly spoken about how important being a dad was for him.
In June last year he shared on Instagram how fatherhood had been ‘the most treasured honour of my life’. Addressing his children, he wrote: ‘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.’
In 2019 he detailed how he and his wife had ‘watched our lives change with each kid’. ‘We’ve watched opportunities grow, and we’ve seen the positive effect it’s had on our other kids. And the added love brought into the house lights everybody up in a way that is kind of undeniable,’ he told People.
Just over a year ago, the actor became emotional while speaking about his wife’s support during his cancer battle.
‘She’s been amazing,’ he said through tears. ‘She’s really taught me what unconditional love is,’ he said on Good Morning America.
However, he admitted his diagnosis had been ‘really scary’ for their children. ‘Some of them are very outward with their fears and they talk about them, and some of them, it manifests in other behavioural ways or they get really quiet.’
A year later he also said he ‘would not be alive’ if it wasn’t for his wife. ‘She just has stepped up as a caretaker, as a nurse, as head of the household.’
Speaking about his family, he also shared: ‘My kids, as much as I want to shield them from seeing me in any kind of pain or just stress. I wanted to be Super Dad. You realise that resilience is not only something they have and can build, but it’s the best thing for them.’
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