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Chad Michael Murray, Sarah Michelle Gellar & More Celebs React to James Van Der Beek’s Death
James Van Der Beek lived a full life with his full family.
Before the Dawson’s Creek actor died Feb. 11 at the age of 48, the “loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend,” as his family described him, focused his energy on his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek.
Indeed, James explained that his colorectal cancer diagnosis, which he was diagnosed with 2023, had helped him to appreciate the “absolute gift” of his 15-year marriage.
“I married the right person, really,” he told Parade in August. “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.”
Plus, the Varsity Blues star emphasized that the hugs he received from his and Kimberly’s six kids Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 9, Gwendolyn, 7, and Jeremiah, 4, were “the most healing thing” that 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,” he continued. “You can talk about resilience. And I try really, really as best I can to teach resilience in my kids. But I think the best thing I could do is show them resilience.”
In 2020, James and Kimberly decided to relocate from California to Texas, where they lived on a farm that gave his family a "better connection to nature."
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
"We've got a great spot where we can go watch the sun go down and the kids can play,” the actor told Business Insider in 2023. “I put up a bunch of ropes in the trees and they can run around and swing and kick the soccer ball and throw the football. There is no shortage of things to do for sure."
But while life on the farm gave the Van Der Beek crew plenty of space for activities, James admitted that finding time to go on dates with Kimberly proved to require “a lot of organization.”
Rick Kern/Getty Images for Hilarity for Charity
“There's a lot of training and an explanation that goes into it," he told E! News in 2022. "Right now, it's kind of a quick coffee shop or even an errand run.”
Although, he added, “Honestly we've had some of our favorite afternoons on errand runs together."
After all, James saw the hurdles as unique opportunities.
"With this many beautiful little humans around and an amazing wife,” he continued, “it's kind of about picking the things that are on the plate and then just making human interaction out of it."
Read on to look back at James’ cherished moments with his family.
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and Kids
Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah
As parents to six kids together, James often championed his wife as the glue that kept their bond strong.
“I am in awe of you: As a mother, a friend, a medicine woman, a healer, a conscious, caring superhuman on this planet,” James, who died after a yearslong cancer battle in February 2026, captioned the March 2024 Instagram post. “And as a wife? I would not be half the man I am without you.”
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Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Kimberly Van Der Beek
Throughout James’ health battle, he emphasized what it meant to have her by his side.
“I’d like to say I chose my Valentine wisely,” the Dawson’s Creek star wrote on the February 2025 Instagram post. “But I didn’t have any choice - I was a goner from the moment you interrupted me mid-sentence telling a friend I was ready to meet the real deal."
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Olivia Van Der Beek
James and his oldest child Olivia had an indescribable bond.
“You expanded my heart and my soul’s capacity the second you came out in ways I could’ve never imagined,” he captioned the September 2023 social media post. “You taught me what love was in an instant. And you’ve led the way ever since.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Emilia Van Der Beek
The best part about having six kids is seeing them come into their own. And James always credited his daughter Emilia for her mighty spirit.
“I consider all my children my teachers, but you I’ve always considered an authority,” he wrote in the March 2025 Instagram post. “ Whether you’re ushering us all out the door on time, helping put your little brother to bed, or telling me where you think I went wrong… when you speak, I listen.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
Halloween with the Van Der Beeks
As the couple’s kids all opted for separate costumes, Halloween 2025 was a boo-tiful family moment.
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Jeremiah Van Der Beek
After two late-term pregnancy losses, Jeremiah. Whom he and Kimberly welcomed in 2021, was the couple’s “rainbow baby.”
“An iron will combined with an innate sweetness,” James wrote in the October 2025 social media post. “And ALL boy. And as you run around and scream and bang things… all I can think about is how grateful I am that you came to us.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Joshua Van Der Beek
For Joshua’s 13th birthday, James reflected on the kind of person his not-so-little guy has made him today.
“No one has taught me more about the kind of man I want to be more than you,” he wrote on the March 2025 Instagram post. “Your questions are my guideposts. Your opinions my mirror. And your sense of humor fills me with endless delight.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Annabel Van Der Beek
Alongside one of James’ last public photos shared with his kids, the Dawson’s Creek alum opened up about his daughter’s resilience.
As he shared in the January 2026 Instagram post, “In this crazy world, it’s a wonder to me that you’ve managed to stay so open, so tender, and so genuinely good.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Gwendolyn Van Der Beek
For her seventh birthday, James gushed over how proud he is of his little girl.
“Before you dropped into this life, you filled your cart to the max with sweetness, sass…,” he captioned the June 2025 Instagram post, “and I think you just might be a low-key genius. You can bring a roomful of adults to genuine, uproarious laughter, and witnessing you care for and nurture younger kids is enough to restore anyone’s faith in humanity.”
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