James Van Der Beek, an emblematic figure of television at the turn of the 21st century with his character in the series Dawson, died on Wednesday at the age of 48. The American actor suffered from colorectal cancer.
Published on: 02/12/2026 - 00:01Modified on: 02/12/2026 - 1:54 p.m.
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American actor James Van Der Beek, hero of the flagship series of the late 1990s and early 2000s "Dawson", died Wednesday February 11 at the age of 48, it was announced on his Instagram account.
“Our dear James David Van Der Beek passed away peacefully this morning. He faced his last days with courage, faith and dignity,” is written in this message also posted on the account of his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek. In 2024, the actor announced that he was suffering from colorectal cancer. He was married and the father of six children.
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An emblematic figure of television at the turn of the 21st century, James Van Der Beek has never detached himself from his role as Dawson Leery, a sentimental and cinema-loving teenager growing up with his friends in the bucolic small town of Capeside.
It seems that he was predestined to play this character: his last name can be translated as "of the creek" in Dutch, when the original title of the series ("Dawson's Creek") means "Dawson's Creek".
Viral image on social networks
Born on March 8, 1977 to a baseball player and a dancer, it was as a teenager that he landed his first roles in theater and television. Success came at the age of 20, with the teen series “Dawson”, broadcast between 1998 and 2003.
His sudden fame opened the doors of cinema to him ("American Boys", teenage comedy-drama, "The Laws of Attraction", adaptation of the novel by Breat Easton Ellis), but without him succeeding in establishing himself there.
By his own admission, in addition to a few "killers and psychopaths", James Van Der Beek's other notable roles are caricatures of Dawson or himself (in the films "Scary Movie", "Jay and Bob Strike Back" or the sitcom "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23"). “Overall, I have worn my past with pride rather than seeing it as something to get rid of,” he told the people site Page Six in 2011.
A fan of social networks, the actor was also present there at his expense, with a viral image of his fictional double in tears. "My Twitter followers would write 'Classic' or 'My favorite moment of all time' with a link. I would always click on it, expecting the link to be a heroic scene from 'American Boys,' and it would always be this GIF of me crying! I thought it was so funny," he assured Page Six.
With AFP
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