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Why James Van Der Beek Moved to Texas With Wife Kimberly and 6 Kids Years Before Cancer Battle
James Van Der Beek and Kimberly Van Der Beek didn’t wait for one final milestone.
Days before his death at the age of 48, on Feb. 11, the Dawson’s Creek star and his wife of 15 years renewed their wedding vows during a bedside service held at their Texas home.
“We decided two days beforehand and our friends got us new rings, filled our bedroom with flowers and candles and we renewed our vows from bed," Kimberly told People in an interview published Feb. 17, noting that the ceremony was “simple and beautiful and moving.”
James and Kimberly—parents to Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 9, Gwendolyn, 7, and Jeremiah, 4—had family and a few close friends in attendance for the intimate ceremony, Kimberly shared according to People, where friend and Instrumentalist Poranguí, closed with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
In a photo provided to the publication, Kimberly holds James’ hand as it rested on a pillow, while they displayed their matching gold bands for the camera.
The ceremony came six months after James—who went public with his colorectal cancer diagnosis in 2024—marked 15 years of marriage with Kimberly.
“15 years ago today, this woman agreed to be my bride. @vanderkimberly you are the most extraordinary human I’ve ever met,” he wrote alongside a Aug. 1 Instagram post featuring a selfie of him and his wife smiling for the camera. “One day I’ll tell the story of what you’ve endured these last two years and how you’ve shown up, time and time and time again. You have not only saved my life… you’ve shown me what it is to live.”
Instagram / James Van Der Beek
“There are no words for how much I love and appreciate you,” he added. “I could not do this without you. Happy anniversary my love.”
Prior to his death, James detailed how his wife stood beside him during his cancer journey.
"I would not be alive if it weren't for my wife," the Varsity Blues actor shared on the Dec. 19 episode of Today. "She just has stepped up as a caretaker, as a nurse, as head of the household."
For more on James’ life at home with Kimberly and their kids, keep reading…
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and Kids
Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah
As parents to six kids together, James often championed his wife as the glue that kept their bond strong.
“I am in awe of you: As a mother, a friend, a medicine woman, a healer, a conscious, caring superhuman on this planet,” James, who died after a yearslong cancer battle in February 2026, captioned the March 2024 Instagram post. “And as a wife? I would not be half the man I am without you.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Kimberly Van Der Beek
Throughout James’ health battle, he emphasized what it meant to have her by his side.
“I’d like to say I chose my Valentine wisely,” the Dawson’s Creek star wrote on the February 2025 Instagram post. “But I didn’t have any choice - I was a goner from the moment you interrupted me mid-sentence telling a friend I was ready to meet the real deal."
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Olivia Van Der Beek
James and his oldest child Olivia had an indescribable bond.
“You expanded my heart and my soul’s capacity the second you came out in ways I could’ve never imagined,” he captioned the September 2023 social media post. “You taught me what love was in an instant. And you’ve led the way ever since.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Emilia Van Der Beek
The best part about having six kids is seeing them come into their own. And James always credited his daughter Emilia for her mighty spirit.
“I consider all my children my teachers, but you I’ve always considered an authority,” he wrote in the March 2025 Instagram post. “ Whether you’re ushering us all out the door on time, helping put your little brother to bed, or telling me where you think I went wrong… when you speak, I listen.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
Halloween with the Van Der Beeks
As the couple’s kids all opted for separate costumes, Halloween 2025 was a boo-tiful family moment.
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Jeremiah Van Der Beek
After two late-term pregnancy losses, Jeremiah. Whom he and Kimberly welcomed in 2021, was the couple’s “rainbow baby.”
“An iron will combined with an innate sweetness,” James wrote in the October 2025 social media post. “And ALL boy. And as you run around and scream and bang things… all I can think about is how grateful I am that you came to us.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Joshua Van Der Beek
For Joshua’s 13th birthday, James reflected on the kind of person his not-so-little guy has made him today.
“No one has taught me more about the kind of man I want to be more than you,” he wrote on the March 2025 Instagram post. “Your questions are my guideposts. Your opinions my mirror. And your sense of humor fills me with endless delight.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Annabel Van Der Beek
Alongside one of James’ last public photos shared with his kids, the Dawson’s Creek alum opened up about his daughter’s resilience.
As he shared in the January 2026 Instagram post, “In this crazy world, it’s a wonder to me that you’ve managed to stay so open, so tender, and so genuinely good.”
Instagram/James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek & Gwendolyn Van Der Beek
For her seventh birthday, James gushed over how proud he is of his little girl.
“Before you dropped into this life, you filled your cart to the max with sweetness, sass…,” he captioned the June 2025 Instagram post, “and I think you just might be a low-key genius. You can bring a roomful of adults to genuine, uproarious laughter, and witnessing you care for and nurture younger kids is enough to restore anyone’s faith in humanity.”
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