LAMAMIMET

James David Van Der Beek was born on March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut. He began acting as a teenager, appearing in school productions and off‑Broadway shows before landing his first film role in the mid‑1990s.

Van Der Beek rose to fame when he was cast as Dawson Leery in The WB's teen drama Dawson's Creek, which aired from 1998 to 2003 and became a cultural touchstone for a generation. He later appeared in films such as Varsity Blues and The Rules of Attraction, and took on television roles in series like CSI: Cyber, Pose, and the sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23.

He married actress Heather McComb in 2003; the couple divorced in 2010, and he subsequently married Kimberly in the same year. James and Kimberly raised six children together. In August 2023 he was diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer, which he publicly disclosed in 2024.

After a battle with the disease, James Van Der Beek died on February 11, 2026, at the age of 48. His death was mourned by fans and colleagues who remembered his contributions to television and film.