James Van Der Beek and his wife have experienced both joy and sorrow on their journey to becoming parents. Meet their beautiful family and discover how they openly shared their story, including the heartache of losing multiple babies.
Beyond his well-known career on screen, James Van Der Beek is a devoted father. The “Dawson’s Creek” star and his wife are proud parents to six children, capturing the admiration of social media users for their “beautiful family.” However, their journey as parents has not always been easy.
Over the years, the actor and his wife have bravely shared the pain of losing multiple pregnancies, hoping their openness might bring comfort to others facing similar struggles.
James Van Der Beek Faces Cancer with Support from His ‘Incredible’ Family
In early November 2024, James revealed a private battle with colorectal cancer. He shared, “I have colorectal cancer. I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family.”
The actor expressed gratitude for his support system, highlighting the strength he found in his wife, Kimberly, and their six children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah. With their love and encouragement, James remained optimistic, saying, “There’s reason for optim’Gossip Girl’ Standout Fashion Moments from Blair Waldorf & Serena Van der Woodsen | THR Video
While James has been navigating his care, he remained committed to his career, recently appearing on “Walker” and preparing for his next role in “Sidelined: The QB and Me,” a Tubi original film.
In June, the actor also enjoyed a meaningful vacation to Egypt with his family, an experience he treasured. Reflecting on how fatherhood influenced his perspective, James noted, “I think fatherhood changes you from the inside out.”
He added that the shift in priorities comes naturally rather than feeling like an added responsibility. “It’s not this thing where you think, ‘Oh, I have to be responsible, I have to take more on.’ You just want to, almost automatically,” the “Varsity Blues” star said.
Balancing his health and career with family time, James embraced the joys and challenges of being a father to a “rapidly expanding” household. He admitted that with each new addition, he found himself with less time for himself, a trade-off he welcomed wholeheartedly.
Meet James Van Der Beek’s Six Blonde Beauties
James’ eldest child, Olivia, has already shown a passion for the arts, a path that brings the actor back to his own beginnings. “When I was 15, I first told my mom I wanted to audition professionally,” he shared on Instagram, adding that she supported him all the way to New York City.
Years later, when Olivia “lit up like a carbon copy of me” at the chance to audition for “We Are Family,” the actor revealed in his post that he fully supported her, even getting her voice lessons.
James proudly added, “She’d never sung in front of people before,” and admitted that watching his “baby girl” perform took him back to her newborn days when he “could not stop looking at [her] in awe.”
The “One Tree Hill” star’s second child is Joshua, a quick-witted boy with a knack for picking up on details. James noted that his son had an impressive ability to recognize when people notice them in public. “My son can sniff out when we walk into a restaurant, and somebody recognizes me,” he revealed.
According to the actor, Joshua can sense attention with a skill that took his dad “like 20 years to learn,” recalling moments when Joshua would discreetly point out fans, saying, “Daddy, those ladies at the table right now? They know.”
Annabel is James and his wife’s third child, who recently celebrated her 10th birthday. In a heartfelt Instagram post, the actor described Annabel’s sincerity, marveling at “the purity of [her] heart.”
He shared his admiration for her kindness and honesty, revealing how deeply he values her ability to express her emotions and share even the feelings that don’t often make it to Instagram. “Keep it coming, kid…I’m here for all of it,” he lovingly wrote, grateful for her warmth and deeply touched to be her dad.
Emilia, the fourth child, entered the world in March 2016, a moment James commemorated with joy. “Crazy how deeply in love you can fall with someone you just met,” he wrote, celebrating the arrival of their little girl.
Over the years, Emilia has been an endless source of joy for the family, though they’ve faced a few scares along the way. In 2021, Emilia had to be rushed to the emergency room after hitting her head on a table.
Emilia showed resilience, and despite being a bit shaken, was praised for her bravery. Gwendolyn, the couple’s fifth child, celebrated her fourth birthday in June 2022.
James described her as “a big personality” and “a born comedienne,” often in awe of how someone so small can captivate those around her. In a heartfelt post, he thanked Gwendolyn for “teaching me patience on the daily,” and for reminding him to embrace joy without restraint.
In a different post, the actor shared a tender story about painting his nails, reflecting on how becoming a “#girldad” had redefined his perspective on life. “Now I get it,” he admitted, saying he was unconcerned about being judged as he proudly wore the nail polish, embracing the small joys of fatherhood.
Finally, there’s Jeremiah, the youngest of the Van Der Beek clan, who turned three in October. James openly shared how Jeremiah came into their lives exactly when they needed him, saying, “We had no idea how much we needed you. But YOU did.”
James lovingly described his son as having a ferocity of desires that the actor was unmatched even in their family of “big personalities.” Yet, beneath his fierce will, the post added that Jeremiah possesses an “inherent sweetness” and deep emotional intelligence that continues to surprise his dad.
Raising six kids comes with its challenges, and James admitted that he’s had to adjust to the organized chaos that defines his household. “I do find with the number six, an explanation seems to be asked for,” he said with a laugh, adding, “But we love the chaos!”
Social media users have commented on the beauty of the “Dawson’s Creek” star’s large, all-blonde family, with one person sharing, “You have ridiculously good looking children [sic].” Another typed, “You legit said copy and paste. Beautiful Family.” A third added, “Truly a very beautiful family.”
Losing Their Children
In early November 2019, James revealed that he and his wife were expecting their sixth child, a moment they decided to capture on camera. “Thrilled beyond belief to announce that another little bundle of joy has picked us to be their family,” James wrote in an Instagram post.
Choosing to document their first ultrasound with his “Dancing with the Stars” crew, James shared that he and Kimberly had experienced this moment three times before, only to discover “either no heartbeat or no baby.”
She wanted to share this deeply personal experience, hoping to chip away at the stigma surrounding miscarriage. James typed, “Miscarriage […] is something that people rarely talk about, and often go through in secret. But there needs to be zero shame around it, or around giving yourself the time and space to grieve.”
However, just a few days later, tragedy struck again. While still competing on “Dancing with the Stars,” the devastating news broke that Kimberly had suffered a miscarriage. The loss was particularly difficult, coming later in the pregnancy and posing a serious risk to her health.
“Wrecked. Devastated. In shock. That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought we were going to welcome into our family in April… has taken a shortcut to whatever lies beyond this life,” James expressed on Instagram.
In June 2020, the couple faced another painful loss. The actor shared the news on Instagram, explaining that after their “brutal, very public miscarriage” the previous November, they had kept the news of their most recent pregnancy private.
“But last weekend, once again, 17 weeks in… the soul we’d been excited to welcome into the world had lessons for our family that did not include joining us in a living physical body,” he revealed.
This second late-term miscarriage required Kimberly to be rushed to the hospital, where she received life-saving blood transfusions.
After these heartbreaks, the Van Der Beeks made a significant life change. In September 2020, James announced on Instagram that he and his family were briefly leaving Los Angeles.
By October, they had settled in Texas. In an emotional post, James detailed the whirlwind of challenges his family had endured, saying, “In the last ten months, we’ve had two late-term pregnancy losses, each of which put @vanderkimberly in the hospital…”
“…We spent Christmas break thinking she had a tumor (the doctor was wrong, thank god), I was prematurely booted off a reality dancing show I was favored to win in front of the whole world, and my mom died,” the actor continued.
Despite the setbacks and sorrow, James expressed “profound gratitude” for their fresh start in Texas, where they could heal, rebuild, and focus on the future.
From facing the pain of multiple miscarriages to embracing fatherhood and the chaos of a large family, James Van Der Beek remains devoted to those he loves. His journey stands as a testament to the strength of family, the courage to endure, and the power of sharing one’s story.
