Kimberly Van Der Beek’s anniversary tribute is both a celebration of 16 years of marriage and an account of how love continues after loss. On August 1, nearly six months after James Van Der Beek died from colorectal cancer, she marked what would have been their wedding anniversary with family photos and a message about his continuing place in their lives.
“16 years ago I was the luckiest woman in the world to marry @vanderjames,” Kimberly wrote on Instagram. “The beauty of this marriage continues to unfold everyday with all these incredible children we have.”
The couple shared six children: Olivia, 15, Joshua, 14, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 10, Gwendolyn, 8, and Jeremiah, 4.
“He continues to be present and guide us,” Kimberly added. “I’m eternally grateful.” As of August 3, the post remained the family’s latest publicly reported tribute.
How James and Kimberly built their family
James and Kimberly married on August 1, 2010, in a small spiritual ceremony in Tel Aviv, where they had first met, according to Us Weekly. Over the next 16 years, they built a large family while James continued acting and Kimberly increasingly took on responsibilities at home during his illness.
James, best known for playing Dawson Leery on Dawson’s Creek and for roles in projects including Varsity Blues, was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in August 2023, Time reported. He disclosed the diagnosis publicly in November 2024.
During a December 2025 appearance on Today, he spoke directly about what Kimberly’s support had meant through treatment.
“I would not be alive if it weren’t for my wife,” he said. “She just has stepped up as a caretaker, as a nurse, as head of the household.”
The comment placed the less visible part of a prolonged illness in plain view. Behind treatment schedules and public statements, Kimberly was caring for her husband while helping lead a household with six children.
They renewed their vows days before his death
Just days before James died, the couple renewed their wedding vows from their bedroom at their Texas home. Kimberly later told People that they had decided to hold the ceremony only two days beforehand.
Their friends brought new rings and filled the room with flowers and candles. A small group of relatives and close friends attended, while instrumentalist Poranguí closed the service with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
“We renewed our vows from bed,” Kimberly said, describing the ceremony as “simple and beautiful and moving.”
James died peacefully on February 11, 2026, at age 48. His family announced the news through the couple’s Instagram accounts, saying he had faced his final days “with courage, faith, and grace.”
“There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time,” the statement said. “Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
His illness also exposed the cost of cancer care
The family’s experience included financial strain as well as the physical and emotional demands of treatment. Time reported that supporters organized a fundraiser after medical care put pressure on the household’s finances. According to The Daily Beast, donations passed $2.25 million within days.
That response showed the depth of public affection for James, but it also highlighted a less sentimental reality: even a recognizable actor and his family could be overwhelmed by the cost of a long illness. Public generosity helped, though crowdfunding is hardly a health-care policy.
James’s diagnosis also came amid a documented increase in colorectal cancer among younger adults. National Cancer Institute data show that incidence rose each year from 2012 through 2021 by:
- 3.8% among people ages 15 to 39
- 1.2% among people ages 40 to 64
Average-risk screening generally begins at age 45, while people with higher risk factors may need earlier testing. James was diagnosed at 46, placing him among the growing number of adults facing the disease before or near the usual screening age.
Friends and co-stars focused on the family left behind
After James’s death, former colleagues remembered both his work and the private relationships behind it. His Dawson’s Creek co-star Joshua Jackson told NBC’s Today in March that becoming a father had changed how he understood the loss.
“The enormity of that tragedy for his family” affected him differently, Jackson said, adding that processing James’s death remained ongoing.
Alfonso Ribeiro described James as a “true friend, brother and life guide,” according to CBS News. The Associated Press reported that Sarah Michelle Gellar wrote that his legacy would endure, while Katharine McPhee Foster called his death “beyond devastating.”
Kimberly’s anniversary message brings that public grief back to its most personal setting: a marriage, six children and a date the family still observes. Rather than treating the anniversary as something that ended with James’s death, she framed it as a relationship still unfolding through the children they raised together.
