The actor’s Instagram confirmed he passed peacefully Wednesday.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” the post said. “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 August 2023, and he publicly revealed his illness in November 2024. Despite the diagnosis, he continued to work, appearing in series such as the CW’s Walker (2024) and Amazon Prime Video’s comedy Overcompensating (2025).
He also took part in Fox’s The Masked Singer (2025) and was cast in Amazon Prime’s Legally Blonde prequel Elle as Dean Wilson, a school district superintendent and mayoral candidate.
The actor previously spoke to USA Today about how the diagnosis shifted his perspective on life and his career. “For a minute, I thought, 'You know what? I don't need acting. I don't need it in the way that I did before,'" he said in summer 2025. “I'm very, very happy just doing this here with my family. And then, when I got cancer, I realized I love to tell stories. Acting is actually a real passion. Writing is a real passion, and I need to feed that. So, I joke that I'm the only guy I know who got cancer and realized I need to work more.”
Van Der Beek is survived by his wife, Kimberly, whom he married in 2010, and their six children.
The actor first rose to fame in the late 1990s with Dawson’s Creek, becoming an icon of teen drama, and later solidified his Hollywood presence with Varsity Blues (1999). His death marks a sudden loss for fans and colleagues alike, many of whom have taken to social media to remember his work and character.
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