UPDATE 1-Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek dies at 48

James Van Der ​Beek, the star ‌of 1990s teen ​drama "Dawson's Creek," died on Wednesday at the age of 48 after a battle ‌with cancer, his wife announced on social media. "Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning.

James Van Der ​Beek, the star ‌of 1990s teen ​drama "Dawson's Creek," died on Wednesday at the age of 48 after a battle ‌with cancer, his wife announced on social media.

"Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final ‌days with courage, faith, and grace," his wife Kimberly wrote ‌on Instagram. In 2024, Van Der Beek announced his colorectal cancer diagnosis after it was discovered during a routine colonoscopy the year before.

"I’ve been dealing ⁠with ​this privately ⁠until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ⁠ever before," he wrote on social media that year. Van Der ​Beek continued to chronicle his fight with cancer on social ⁠media until his death.

A Connecticut native, Van Der Beek got his ⁠breakout ​role in the 1990s as Dawson Leery in "Dawson's Creek," along Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes. He continued ⁠in the role, which made him a teen heartthrob of the early ⁠2000s, ⁠until the show concluded in 2003. Other roles include Mox in "Varsity Blues" and Sean Bateman in "The Rules of ‌Attraction."