Katie Holmes has shared an emotional tribute to her Dawson’s Creek co-star James Van Der Beek after his death at the age of 48.
James’s wife Kimberly Van Der Beek announced the sad news of his passing on Wednesday, which followed a courageous two-year battle with colorectal cancer.
Katie played Joey Potter on the beloved teen series, whose on/off love affair with James’s character Dawson formed the central story arc of the show’s five-year run.
She paid tribute to the pair’s shared ‘adventures of a unique youth’ in a poignant handwritten note posted to her Instagram page on Thursday morning.
‘I formed some words with a heavy heart. This is a lot to process. I am so grateful to have shared in a piece of James’ journey. He is beloved,’ the actress wrote before vowing to take care of her friend’s widow and his six children, who are struggling financially during his cancer treatment.
‘James. Thank you. To share space with your imagination is sacred – breathing the same air in the land of make believe and trusting that each other’s hearts are safe in their expression…’ Katie wrote in her note.
Sharing memories of her time with James on the set of Dawson’s Creek, she continued: ‘These are some of the memories along with Laughter, conversations about life, James Taylor songs – adventures of a unique youth…’
‘Bravery. Compassion. Selflessness. Strength. An appreciation for life and the action taken to live life with the integrity that life is art – creating a beautiful marriage, six loving children – the journey of a Hero.’
‘I mourn this loss with a heart holding the reality of his absence and deep gratitude for his imprint on it,’ she added.
‘To Kimberly and the children, we are here for you always. And will always be there to shower you with Love and compassion.’
James’s wife shared the news of her husband’s death on Instagram on Wednesday, writing ‘Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace.
‘There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.’
James and Kimberly shared six children: Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Emilia, nine, Gwendolyn, seven and Jeremiah, four.
A GoFundMe page has also been created with the goal of raising funds to support the late actor’s family.
In a description, his family confirmed that the actor passed away on February 11 after ‘a long and courageous battle with cancer’.
It was also shared that, ‘Throughout his illness, the family faced not only emotional challenges but also significant financial strain as they did everything possible to support James and provide for his care…’
Katie alongside her Dawson’s Creek co-stars Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson reunited for a charity event last September to raise funds for James’s treatment and the nonprofit F Cancer.
James was due to appear at the one-night-only charity event but had to pull out of the reunion at the last minute due to his ill health.
The actor revealed his stage three colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2024, revealing he had been diagnosed a year previously.
‘There’s no playbook for how announce these things, but I’d planned on talking about it at length with People magazine at some point soon… to raise awareness and tell my story on my own terms,’ he wrote on social media.
‘But that plan had to be altered early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news.
‘I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before. I’m in a good place and feeling strong. It’s been quite the initiation, and I’ll tell you more when I’m ready.
‘Apologies to all the people in my life who I’d planned on telling myself. Nothing about this process has occurred on my preferred timeline… But we roll with it, taking each surprise as a signpost, pointing us toward a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention. Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support.’
Later James told People he was getting through the health ordeal with the ‘support of my incredible family.’
And he slowed down dramatically in the past two years: ‘The beauty of just taking things a little bit more slowly and prioritizing rest and really allowing that to be the job, I’m just on the journey,’ he during an interview on Today.
The actor added, ‘It’s a process. It’ll probably be a process for the rest of my life.’
The star had often updated fans on social media about his cancer journey.
‘I feel a little bit better every month. It’s required more of me — more patience, more discipline,’ he said late last year when addressing his weight loss. ‘More strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong, I didn’t know I was this strong,’ the star said in the emotional conversation.
His last Instagram post was on January 25 where he looked slender but healthy. He was wishing his daughter and father a happy birthday.
The star had moved from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas with his family in 2020 for a simpler life as they lived on a ranch.
Van Der Beek shot to fame in the 90s as Dawson’s Creek teen heartthrob Dawson Leery when he was 20 years old.
The drama ran for six seasons on the WB Network between 1998 and 2003 and also launched the careers of Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson.
Mary-Margaret Humes who played Dawson’s mother Gale Leery also shared a poignant tribute to ‘my gracious warrior.’
‘Rarely am I at a loss for words … today would be the exception. James, my gracious warrior, you fought a hard battle against all odds with such quiet strength and dignity,’ the actress wrote alongside a photo of herself and James on the Dawson’s Creek set.
‘I will always love and admire you for that. Our last conversations … merely a few days ago … are forever sitting softly in my heart for safe keeping.’
Mary ended her post with a plea to fans, writing: ‘To our extended Dawson’s Creek family of friends … please be respectful of our silences at the moment as Beautiful Kimberly and family have asked for peaceful privacy for now.’
Busy Philips – who joined the show in 2001 as Audrey Liddell – also took to Instagram to share a tribute alongside photos from the set of the show.
‘My heart is deeply hurting for all of us today…,’ she wrote.
‘Every person who knew James and loved him, anyone who loved his work or had the pleasure of meeting him, all of his dear friends and community that surrounded him as he battled this illness, especially his parents and brother and sister.’
Busy continued that she is ‘profoundly heartbroken for his incredible wife Kimberly and their six magical children.’
‘James Van Der Beek was one in a billion and he will be forever missed and i don’t know what else to say. i am just so so sad. He was my friend and i loved him and i’m so grateful for our friendship all these years.❤️.’
She then encouraged her followers to go to a GoFundMe page created to help support the late actor’s family following his death.
‘I’m deeply saddened by the passing of James Van Der Beek. I got to meet him last year at his home in Texas. I can say that he and his wife have a beautiful relationship. He has a beautiful family with six beautiful kids.’
Kerr Smith who played Jack McPhee, wrote on Instagram: ‘I’m so grateful for being able to call James a brother. I’ll miss him deeply. Rest easy.’
