James Van Der Beek, the actor everyone remembers as Dawson from ‘Dawson’s Creek’, has passed away at 48. He spent more than two years fighting stage 3 colorectal cancer, and he didn’t try to hide any of it. He talked about it with honesty and grit, right up until the end on February 11, 2026. His wife confirmed his passing and said his final days were marked by “courage, faith, and grace.”But James wasn’t just a star. He was a husband, a dad to six kids, and, in these last years, a voice for anyone facing tough odds. He opened up about life, death, and love in a way that hit home for millions.

What happened?

Back in August 2023, a routine colonoscopy turned James’s life upside down: stage 3 colorectal cancer. He started treatment with hope, but as time passed, it became clear the disease was winning. Even as his health faded, he kept sharing updates with fans — talking about strength, gratitude, and how cancer was changing the way he saw himself and the world. In fact, James shone a light on the importance of catching this cancer early, and he showed what families go through when someone they love gets sick like this.Appreciating his marriage to Kimberly, Van Der Beek told Parade in last August, “I married the right person, really,” adding, “I’m more in love than ever, and more in awe of her than ever, and how she’s able to handle everything that I had to drop when I got diagnosed, and everything that she does, and just what it is to be that loved by somebody.”After he passed away, his wife, Kimberly, asked for some space for the family to mourn.

James Van Der Beek’s battle with cancer: What he shared

James never shied away from talking about his own mortality. On his 48th birthday, he posted a video on Instagram and said, “This year, I had to look my own mortality in the eye. I had to come nose to nose with death.” Before cancer, he’d defined himself by his roles: actor, husband, father. But cancer stripped all of that away. He explained, “I was away for treatment, so I could no longer be a husband that was helpful to my wife. I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them. And so, I was faced with the question: ‘If I am just a too-skinny, weak guy alone in an apartment with cancer, what am I?’”As reported by E! News, he spent time meditating, and eventually an answer came to him: “I am worthy of God’s love simply because I exist.”It wasn’t instant peace. When he first heard the diagnosis, he said he went into shock. “I really don’t think I knew what to do. Neither did my wife. And we drove home in silence,” he told Today. “Part of me wanted to panic. Part of me wanted to just freak out. But then another part of my brain was like, ‘You don’t know enough yet.’”Per E! News, James made a choice: not to let the diagnosis define him, but to look for something positive. He told himself, “This is going to be the best thing that ever happened to me.” He heard a voice in his head saying, “You’re going to make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn’t have this extreme of a diagnosis.” What changed most? Learning self-love. “What I realized was, I’m still worthy of love.”He said, “Presence is really the gift that cancer has given me.” Before cancer, he treated all the little, beautiful moments as just things to collect. Now, he found himself able to really live in the present — to settle into the moment and let it be enough.

Who was James Van Der Beek?

James Van Der Beek started out in Connecticut, born in 1977, and by the late ‘90s, he was landing big roles. ‘Dawson’s Creek’ made him famous — a sensitive, thoughtful teen who became a face of that era’s TV. He didn’t stop there. He starred in ‘Varsity Blues’, ‘The Rules of Attraction’, and popped up in shows like ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and ‘CSI: Cyber’. Later, he even poked fun at himself, playing a wild version of “James Van Der Beek” on ‘Don’t Trust the B—- in ‘Apartment 23’.After James’ demise, friends and fans quickly rallied around his family. As reported by The Guardian, a GoFundMe sprang up to help with medical bills and secure the kids’ future. It blew past its goal, showing just how many lives James touched.