Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek dies at 48

James Van Der Beek, the actor who became an emblem of late‑1990s television as earnest dreamer Dawson Leery on Dawson’s Creek and went on to a varied, self‑aware career on screen, has died at the age of 48 after a battle with cancer.

James David Van Der Beek was born on March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, the eldest of three children of Melinda (Weber), a gymnastics studio owner and former Broadway dancer, and Jim Van Der Beek, a telecommunications executive. Drawn early to performance, he convinced his mother at 15 to take him to New York City to seek an agent, and by 16 he made his professional stage debut off‑Broadway in Edward Albee’s play Finding the Sun.

James’s life changed overnight in 1998 when he was cast as Dawson Leery, a sensitive, movie‑obsessed teenager on the WB drama Dawson’s Creek, which ran for six seasons and helped define a generation of teen television. Starring opposite Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson, he anchored the series’ mix of articulate angst and coming‑of‑age romance, earning a devoted fan base and becoming one of People magazine’s “Most Beautiful People.”

At the height of his TV fame, James headlined the high‑school football drama Varsity Blues (1999), which opened at number one at the U.S. box office and earned him an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Male Performance. He followed it with roles in the horror spoof Scary Movie, the western Texas Rangers, and the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Rules of Attraction, which later developed a cult following.

On television, he showed range in series including Criminal Minds, How I Met Your Mother, CSI: Cyber and Pose, and he delighted in skewering his own image by playing a heightened version of “James Van Der Beek” in the sitcom Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. He lent his voice to family animation in Vampirina and continued to appear across genres, from legal comedies like Friends with Better Lives to experimental anthology storytelling in Room 104.​

In later years, James embraced the internet’s affection for him, leaning into memes and winning a NewNowNext “OMG Internet Award” for JamesVanDerMemes.com. He also appeared as himself on reality and competition series including Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer, introducing his work to new audiences and sharing more of his life as a husband and father.

James revealed in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer, a struggle he faced largely out of the spotlight while continuing to work and reflect on the 25th anniversary of Dawson’s Creek and its impact on his life. He died on February 11, 2026, at 48, leaving behind his second wife, Kimberly, and their six children.