James Van Der Beek, the actor who became a familiar face to a generation of television viewers as Dawson Leery in Dawson\u2019s Creek<\/em>, has died at the age of 48.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Van Der Beek died on February 11, 2026, according to his family. His wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, shared that he passed peacefully and asked for privacy as the family grieved. He is survived by Kimberly and their six children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His career reached a defining moment with Dawson\u2019s Creek<\/em>, the coming-of-age drama that ran from 1998 through 2003. The role made him a recognizable star and helped establish him as one of the most memorable young actors of the era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also made his mark on the big screen, particularly with Varsity Blues<\/em>, while later taking on roles that showed a very different side of his personality. On Don\u2019t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23<\/em>, he played a fictionalized version of himself, leaning into the public image that had followed him since his Dawson\u2019s Creek<\/em> years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Continue reading on the next page…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Van Der Beek publicly revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer after initially keeping his illness private. He continued working and speaking openly about his experience, including participating in projects intended to raise awareness about cancer and supporting his family through his treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the months before his death, tributes from former colleagues and fans highlighted the lasting impact he had made both on screen and beyond his most famous role. His Dawson\u2019s Creek<\/em> legacy remained especially strong, with former cast members reuniting for a charity event in 2025 while Van Der Beek participated through a video message because he was unable to attend in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For millions of viewers, James Van Der Beek will always be remembered as Dawson Leery. But his career extended far beyond that single character, spanning television, film, comedy, drama, and stage work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His passing marks the end of a career that began when he was young and continued across more than three decades. He leaves behind his wife, six children, and a body of work that continues to connect with audiences who grew up watching him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" James Van Der Beek Remembered: \u2018Dawson\u2019s Creek\u2019 Star Dies at 48 James Van Der Beek, the actor who became a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14244,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14242\/revisions\/14244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/divaxo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}