Actor James Van Der Beek has died, his wife Kimberly confirmed on Instagram on Wednesday. Although there is a reason die What wasn’t mentioned is that the “Dawson’s Creek” actor has been suffering from stage 3 colorectal cancer since 2024. He is 48 years old.
“Our beloved James David VanderBeek passed away peacefully this morning,” Kimberly VanderBeek wrote in the statement. “He lived his final days with courage, faith and grace. There is so much to share about his wishes, love for humanity and the sanctity of time. Those days will come.”
“At this time, we ask for peaceful privacy as we mourn our beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend.”
James Van Der Wyk’s Cancer Battle: What to Know
James Van Der Beek diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer cancer He kept it secret from August 2023 until it was publicly disclosed in November 2024. He revealed in a 2024 Instagram video that he had no family history of the disease and was unaware that screening guidelines had been lowered to age 45.
The cancer is localized (stage 3), and the prognosis is cautiously optimistic, with a five-year survival rate of about 91 percent, according to the American Cancer Society, according to a report by cancer news site Oncodaily.
“Cancer is a crazy thing,” he said in the video. “It really forces you to look at your own mortality and decide what’s important and really decide what you want to be without for the rest of your life. So one of the biggest things for me was recognizing how negative my self-talk was.”
He often shares updates on his battle with cancer on his website Instagram account. This is his latest video released last year.
Van Der Beek is an American actor best known for his role as Dawson Leery on the hit television series Dawson’s Creek, which made him a household name in the late 1990s. He has also appeared in films, sitcoms, and several stage plays.
