Terrible news this February 11, 2026: actor James Van Der Beek, star of the hit series “Dawson”, has died, his wife announced. At 48, he was battling stage 3 colorectal cancer. Here’s what we know about his family.
It was through a message posted on Instagram that Kimberly Van Der Beek announced the death, on February 11, of her husband, actor James Van Der Beek. “He faced his last days with courage, faith and dignity. There is so much to say about his wishes, his love of humanity and his concept of the sacredness of time. These days will come again“, she wrote.
The actor had been battling colorectal cancer for a long time. Last September, when he should have participated in a major event for fans of Dawsona series in which he notably starred opposite Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams, James Van Der Beek was forced to cancel his presence during the big meeting of the cast of the series organized in New York with the aim of raising funds for the fight against cancer. Unfortunately, his state of health only worsened thereafter.
Who was James Van Der Beek’s wife?
The late actor suffered from stage 3 colorectal cancer, which left him very thin and unable to continue his career. He could count on the support of his wife, her maiden name Kimberly Brook, who worked as a financial consultant. The couple met in Israel in 2009. Married in August 2010 in Tel Aviv, they then had no less than six children together: Olivia (born in 2010), Joshua (born in 2012), Annabel (born in 2014), Emilia (born in 2016), Gwendolyn (born in 2018) and the youngest, Jeremiah (born in 2021).
James Van Der Beek, who with his wife left his home in Los Angeles to live in Texas, had previously been married once. In fact, the actor in the film The Laws of Attraction had been married to actress Heather McComb from 2003 to 2009.
James Van Der Beek marked by his wife Kimberly’s miscarriages
In addition to the fight against cancer, James Van Der Beek and his wife faced another challenge in life. Indeed, Kimberly has had multiple miscarriages. A fight for the couple that the late actor was keen to document on his Instagram account.
“We found a doctor here in Texas who diagnosed these miscarriages as being caused by an ‘incompetent cervix’ (I asked him what kind of misogynistic old dude invented that term and he laughed, which made me appreciate it even more. Now it’s called a ‘weakened cervix’). A simple cerclage was placed and then removed at term. Kimberly had a natural birth at the ranch…and here we are.”he explained in particular at the birth of his last child.
