James Van Der Beek's Widow Shares Grief and Gratitude Three Months After His Death at 48

James Van Der Beek died of bowel cancer in February 2026 at the age of 48. His widow, Kimberly Van Der Beek, posted an emotional tribute on Instagram on Tuesday, which was exactly three months since his death. "Yesterday was three months since we lost @vanderjames," Kimberly Van Der Beek stated.

"To say I'm heartbroken is a severe understatement. Words just don't capture what grief is. The comforts of shock have worn off. The reality is settling in... " She continued that the family shares that loss.

"We all miss him. Yet, there is a different kind of magic in the air. I feel him. I know him more deeply. My conscious connection to God has deepened. The veils of the universe have thinned. And I trust that this is the path me and my family have always been intended to walk," Kimberly Van Der Beek stated.

Kimberly Van Der Beek stated that the outpouring of support has been tremendous and held their family in the most beautiful of ways. "You all went absolutely above and beyond anything I could have ever expected in supporting us and honouring James. I am deeply grateful.

There is so much more to share here. And in time - I will," she added. James Van Der Beek and Kimberly Van Der Beek got married in 2010 and had six children together. In the months before his death, James Van Der Beek shared that cancer treatments had left him and his family cash-strapped.

Kimberly Van Der Beek had to ask for donations so the family would not lose their home due to the cost of medical treatments. James Van Der Beek said he had been paid almost nothing for Dawson's Creek as a young actor and that his contract had not included residual payments for repeats.

He publicly auctioned a tartan buttoned shirt he wore in the first episode of Dawson's Creek, a necklace he gave to Katie Holmes' character, and sports shoes he wore in the 1999 film Varsity Blues.

James Van Der Beek played the character Dawson Leery in Dawson's Creek from 1998 until 2003. Following the news of James Van Der Beek's death in February, his Dawson's Creek co-stars led the tributes. BBC News reported on the details of his widow's tribute and the family's earlier financial struggles.