James Van Der Beek: Dawson’s Creek heart-throb and family man
By Hannah Roberts, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
James Van Der Beek, who has died aged 48, was best known for playing the titular character in the US teen drama Dawson’s Creek, but in his private life, his focus was on his wife Kimberly and their six children.
The programme, which began in 1998 and ended in 2003, followed the adventures of four teenage friends, including Van Der Beek’s character Dawson Leery, as they awkwardly came of age in a small Massachusetts suburb.
After capturing the imagination of American teenagers, the TV series aired on Channel 4 in the UK and helped to launch the careers of Van Der Beek as well as his co-stars Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams.
The mid to late 1990s saw Van Der Beek star in a slew of films including comedy Angus, romance drama I Love You, I Love You Not, and sport movie Varsity Blues, which involved him gaining 15lbs of muscle to play quarter-back Jonathan “Mox” Moxon.
In 2001 he starred in western film Texas Rangers, alongside Ashton Kutcher, and the next year he appeared in rom-com The Rules Of Attraction.
He married his first wife, actress Heather McComb, in 2003 and the couple separated in 2009.
The year after, he married his partner Kimberly in a small ceremony in Tel Aviv, Israel, and the couple welcomed their first child, Olivia, soon after.
As well as his film credits Van Der Beek had cameos in TV series including How I Met Your Mother and Ugly Betty and showcased his ballroom skills in US TV competition series Dancing With The Stars in 2019.
The Connecticut actor also became known for his roles as a fictional version of himself in Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, in CSI: Cyber as FBI agent Elijah Mundo, and as Matt Bromley in the first season of the US drama Pose.
He also starred in the films Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), The Big Bang (2010) and Labor Day (2013).
The actor was among a number of the stars who condemned film producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017, whilst also sharing details of his own experiences being sexually harassed by unnamed “older, powerful men”.
In a series of tweets, the TV star said he can relate to the women who had kept silent for so long, because he has also endured unwanted attention of a sexual nature.
In 2018 he announced on social media that his wife was expecting their fifth child, having now welcomed Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Joshua, into their lives.
Their sixth child together, Jeremiah, was born in 2021 after Kimberly suffered some late-term miscarriages.
Van Der Beek posted about his family online often and in August 2024, after celebrating 14 years together, he thanked his wife “for being the most incredible partner”.
Months prior he had said he was “so proud of my baby girl” in an Instagram post showing him and his daughter Olivia singing a duet together on TV programme We Are Family.
In November 2024, he announced his diagnosis with colorectal cancer via an article with US publication People.
In a post on Instagram, the actor apologised to his loved ones who had learned of his cancer through the press and said the story had run early as he was “informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news”.
He also said he was “in a good place” with his his colorectal cancer diagnosis.
It was announced in May last year that Van Der Beek had been cast in Prime Video’s upcoming Legally Blonde prequel Elle, with the actor saying he was “super excited to join this awesome cast in such a fun project”.
In September, Van Der Beek missed a Dawson’s Creek reunion event, which was organised in support of him and the charity F Cancer, due to two stomach viruses, adding that he was “gutted” to drop out.
However, his children sang the show’s theme tune on stage with other members of the cast at the event.
In December, he was described as a “ray of positivity” by American TV presenter Craig Melvin, who added that Van Der Beek was “finding joy in family and faith”.
