James Van Der Beek passed away on February 11 after a years-long journey with colorectal cancer. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children, ages four through 15. Over the last several months, James was open about how expensive his treatments were and the financial toll that they took on his family. In December, he auctioned off some of his Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues memorabilia in order to raise money to pay for treatments. Paul Walker Hauswer and his Dawson’s Creek co-stars also set up fundraisers to support James.
Hours after James’ passing, friends of the Van Der Beek family set up a GoFundMe page to help his family with their financial needs. The crowdfund surpassed a million dollars within hours, with thousands of people donating. As of Thursday night, more than two million had been raised from almsot 40,000 donors. It wasn’t just fans donating, either. Several celebrities made very generous donations, including Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, who donated $25,000, and Zoe Saldaña, who set up a monthly donation of $2,500.
Zoe Saldaña is making a major contribution to James Van Der Beek‘s family after the actor’s death at age 48.
Saldaña’s name was spotted among the many donors on Van Der Beek’s GoFundMe page after news broke of his death on Wednesday, February 11. The actress’ donation was set at $2,500 on a monthly basis.
The fundraiser’s goal was initially set at $550,000 but has since been upped to $1.5 million. More than $1.2 million was raised at the time of publication, with Derek Hough, Lydia Hearst and Ricki Lake also among the celebrity donors.
Van Der Beek revealed in November 2024 that he was diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer. His death was announced via Instagram on Wednesday.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” a statement read. “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 is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children: daughters Olivia, 15, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 9, and Gwendolyn, 7, and sons Joshua, 13, and Jeremiah, 4.
According to the GoFundMe description, the Dawson’s Creek alum’s family is “out of funds” after covering medical costs.
“James Van Der Beek was a beloved husband, father, and friend who touched the lives of everyone around him,” the website reads. “After a long and courageous battle with cancer, James passed away on February 11, 2026 leaving behind his devoted wife, Kimberly, and their six wonderful children. 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.”
James’ family is now “facing an uncertain future” an “working hard to stay in their home” in Texas.
“The support of friends, family, and the wider community will make a world of difference as they navigate the road ahead,” the website continues. “Your generosity will help cover essential living expenses, pay bills, and support the children’s education. Every donation, no matter the size, will help Kimberly and her family find hope and security as they rebuild their lives. Thank you for considering a gift to support them.”
The latest numbers have James’s family’s GoFundMe topping $2 million. In addition to the celebrities that Us Weekly mentions, other famous contributors include John M. Chu, Danica McKellar, and Marla Maples’ foundation. That is really kind of Zoe to set up a monthly donation. I’m sure James’ family truly appreciates that gesture, as well as everyone else’s generosity. It’s so awful that they have to worry about essential living expenses and potentially losing their home while they’re grieving. Hopefully, this money helps relieves their financial stress. This situation once again puts a spotlight on what is wrong with America’s for-profit healthcare system. No one should go bankrupt or face losing their home as a result of them or a family member getting sick.
Social media has been flooded with tributes, from James’ friends, co-workers, and fans. Katie Holmes shared a handwritten letter on her Instagram page that made me tear up. Alfonso Ribeiro, who’s godfather to James’ daughter Gwendolyn, made two heartfelt Instagram posts, including one with a picture of him saying his last goodbye to his friend. Stacy Keibler shared a recent picture of the two of them watching the sunset. I also read several stories from fans who’d met James in chance encounters over the years, whether it was in a restaurant with his family or while he was filming DC in Wilmington, NC. Every story was about how kind or good-natured he was. It’s always nice to hear about a famous person being just as nice in real life as you hoped they were.
photos credit: Avalon.red
It makes me sad when people don’t have life insurance especially when they have very large families that are dependent on them for income. Unfortunately we are all going to pass one day and as a parent I can’t imagine not preparing my family with some kind of coverage (if one can afford it). I see many families crowd sourcing after a death and I can’t imagine how that must feel.
I had read that he lost his SAG benefits since he wasn’t able to work. Maybe life insurance was part of that. I may totally be wrong though. And I agree with your point. People think they’ve prepared enough until they’re not.
He didn’t work from 2020-23. Then he worked some in 2024-5 despite his battling cancer. Given the timing, he likely booked just enough to keep his benefits.
I agree. Everyone should buy Term Life Insurance separate from any work benefits. A 20 year term policy is very affordable. Typical times to buy it would be when purchasing a home, having a child, getting married, etc. By the time the Term ends, you probably won’t need as much money as you will have likely paid down the mortgage, your child might be old enough to work, saved your own funds, etc.
The real issue is we have a for-profit health care system in this country. People should not have to lose everything because of the cost of necessary medical care. Other developed nations don’t require people to pay anything for their health care. People say universal health care would lead to rationing – but we already have rationing of our health care! I know people who don’t seek care just because they can’t afford it, including yearly checkups that preventative care.
Please. He bought a 5 million dollar home a few months ago and already had another. They were anti-vaxxers who paid top dollar to put their kids in a private school where there was no mandate. Also, he went for mostly “alternative” healing methods. Now, his wife is grifting just like Erika Kirk. Save your sympathy for someone who deserves it.
This is why we need universal healthcare, y’all.
I’m glad they’re getting so much support. It’s a small comfort to them in a terrible time.
What’s glaring, but surprisingly not mentioned much in this, is how shocking it is that a successful actor would get to this point at all. It says a lot about the state of America that a man who had reasonable success in a lucrative career ended up spending almost everything he had to pay for healthcare. If he found himself in this horrific situation, what hope do any of the rest of us have?
We have no idea how he managed his finances, but it’s not that hard to go bankrupt from getting cancer. It happens to many American households who don’t have such a high profile.
Whenever I think about anyone getting a cancer diagnosis in the USA, I immediately think of Joe Biden, when he was vice president.
Obama was president. Biden had just found out his son, Beau, had cancer. Obama asked him how he was doing and what their plans were.
Biden said he would be selling the family home in Delaware to help pay for the cost of Beau’s treatment. Because, as VP of the supposed most powerful nation on earth, Biden knew better than most that cancer treatment bankrupted and destroyed families. And he was accepting that truth and trying to get in front of it.
Obama begged him to wait. The ACA was so close to passing. I believe like days away. Biden hadn’t even been thinking about it. He had been operating on how health insurance had been. That Beau would lose his insurance or be dropped in the next cycle because he had a preexisting condition.
Long story short. Biden didn’t have to sell the family home. They all took a financial hit but not nearly as bad as it would have been before the ACA.
The Vice President of the United States planned to sell his home to help pay for his son’s cancer treatments. And he also knew it wouldn’t remotely pay for all of it.
That has always stayed with me and also scared me in a way I can’t even put words to.
@goose, it’s disgraceful, in’nit. And then we got Trump.
Sure he was a successful actor but let’s be for real, his biggest success was Dawson creek and he has said before that the royalties from that are very small. He was in a few successful movies and did some cameos and guest appearances in television but certainly not enough to raise 6 kids and treat cancer in the US.
This is all B.S. He bought a 5 million dollar home a few months ago and already had another house. He and his crazy wife are anti-vaxxers and he used “alternative healing” Save your sympathy. He had plenty of money – this is a grift.
There’s a group of people on Threads discouraging people from donating to the GoFundMe because his wife is an anti-vaxxer. They’re trying to claim that JVDB wasn’t broke when James himself has said that he received no residuals (or very little) from Dawson’s Creek because the CW wasn’t considered a major network. He definitely hasn’t been receiving any money since it started streaming. You have to work a certain number of days a year to have health insurance under SAG. Since he was sick and receiving treatment, it would have been hard to accrue enough days.
He bought a 5 MILLION dollar house a few months ago. And they have another multi-million dollar house. They pay TOP DOLLAR for their kids to go to a school that accepts the unvaxxed. He rejected much of medicine’s typical treatment for “wellness” for his cancer. She is GRIFTING.
No one should go broke because of medical bills. Every other major country in the world has universal healthcare, even Russia. Our system is disgraceful. High premiums with insurance that doesn’t even kick in until huge deductibles are met with a system full of third parties, hidden costs and greed. There is no excuse for our falling for Reaganomics and magat stupidity, but the lack of universal healthcare and viciously tying healthcare to employment are major factors in fueling poverty and discontent. Unless you are an American you cannot understand the depravity of our healthcare system. Please fight to protect your versions of the NHS outside the USA. Demand universal healthcare if you are a US citizen.
How many “broke” people do you know that bought a 5 million dollar home a few months ago? IT IS A GRIFT.
The cost of my chemo for the month of December was $245K. With my insurance, it cost me nothing. In this country, a cancer diagnosis without health insurance is basically a death sentence. It’s criminal.
🎯
Thank you for sharing this. I don’t live in the U.S. so that cost of chemo for a month knocked me for a loop. I’m so glad you had insurance that covered it, because yes, that cost is criminal! Factoring in ridiculously high financial costs when making treatment decisions is so unjust.
I very much have mixed opinions on this. Of course I’m sorry he passed and sympathy for his family and friends and 100% believe in universal healthcare and that healthcare should not be a for profit industry.
But while I do not doubt they are worried about finances and want stability for the kids, they are also not without resources and the automatic GoFund me and the $$ just doesn’t sit right (unpopular opinion I’m sure). Maybe because a friend just lost their 44 year old son, 2 kids, self employed, to a brain tumor. They do not live on a multiacre ranch in a very affluent, sought after market in the Hill Country outside of Austin worth millions. Their GoFund me has raised $50,000, which will maybe last a year or two if it’s managed very, very carefully. Fortunately there will be SSI $$ to help for the kids.
Assuming Vanderbeek paid into social security, for now (until Trump decides that fund needs to be raised), his wife will get survivor benefits for the 6 kids.
Again, the support and loyalty of his friends is commendable, and this is more a statement on the system vs anything against JV.
I agree 100%! The family has means to generate millions. They are not destitute.
I read that both James and his wife were anti-vaxxers and vocally so. I also read that he has been spewing some MAGA positions and has been photographed with really sketchy people, including transphobes. (And it has been said, but I haven’t verified this, he went broke trying unproven ‘alternative’ treatments that are not covered by insurance.)
Maybe his wife should sell one of their several properties that are worth millions. This is just a grift, in my opinion. Everyday people should not be donating to a millionaire.
I agree. The family lives in a multimillion dollar home in a very expensive area of Austin (like 15 million TCAD property value expensive). I am sorry for him and his family, but its not as they don’t have access to other resources the way that so many do not, and it bothers me when the average person in the same situation barely raises 20K.
Yeah there’s a lot to this.
If you click the organizer name “friends of the VDB family” in the Gofundme it leads to a profile page with Kimberly van der Beek’s name. So likely she posted the GFM herself, literally within 24 hrs of his death.
Besides the Texas property they own a nice property in Beverly Hills which is rented out.
Yes, US healthcare is broken
Yes, this family is grieving and deserves to do so in peace
And yet, this feels grift-y and greedy. Like they knew it was coming, and prepared to make the most out of a sad situation. James himself chose “natural remedies” to try and cure something we don’t know whether it was curable or not with science-based medicine.
The Gofundme is at 2.3 million dollars now so they should be set for life, as well as the kids entire lives. Depending on what kind of lifestyle they choose of course.
I must admit that I agree with you. Didn’t they recently buy a multi-million-dollar home? Not sure I would have done that knowing that my cancer care was going to bankrupt me. They bought the property in Texas shortly before he died. Healthcare shouldn’t bankrupt a family to be sure, but neither is buying a 4 million dollar home without the funds to maintain it.
I know this sounds awful, but it does make me wonder.
As a person from Europe, I just cannot comprehend lack of general health insurance in USA. We pay a lot of money (20% of our gross salary) and our health insurance is not perfect (I still pay out of pocket if I want to get the service immediately), but I think solidarity is the way to go. You get money from the state if you are on a sick leave and your expenses are covered. If your loved one dies, you do not have debts to cover.
Your comment highlights the buried truth in the US system. The astronomical cost of our healthcare actually provides *less value* & poorer outcomes than other countries w/ *higher taxes*. And something I’ve noticed commuting through the renowned Texas Medical Center in Houston — new construction for hospitals & cancer centers increasingly display the names of mega-rich donors alongside actual ground-breaking surgeons like Michael DeBakey & Denton Cooley. I wonder if this is occurring in medical facilities/complexes outside United States.
The sad outcome for the Van der Beek family brings up so many emotions. My mother died from medical malpractice when I was in grade school & the aftermath of bills from the hospital to the funeral home left my father reeling.
It isn’t just the immediate costs of healthcare that depleted his money. He mentioned having to get an apartment close to his treatments. My guess is that they had to buy various items for his personal comfort as well. Those things add up and are not always covered with even the best insurance. From the time he was diagnosed I am guessing they spent money on anything they thought would improve his chances- higher quality food, cleaner products, special treatments. Alternative medicine probably came into play- I would be desperate enough to try anything in that situation. Beyond that, I imagine you start spending money on things to ease the stress on your family. Cleaning companies, food delivery, yard workers, babysitters. I would probably spoil my kids and take as many vacations with them as I could in the time I had left. I would probably max out every credit card I could acquire in this process, mortgage my house to the hilt, do whatever it took. Of course, there is privilege in being able to spend like this (even if via debt) and so many people cannot when faced with a similar situation. My guess is that they jumped on doing a Go Fund Me as they knew in the immediate aftermath more people would be willing to contribute. It is really unfortunate, but makes so much sense as it is the easiest and quickest way for them to get some immediate financial relief.
I contributed a small amount ❤️
I just hope no one who is donating to the page is having to dig too deeply into their own pockets.
The state of health care costs in this country is dire, no doubt. He shouldn’t have had to spend every last penny and beyond on treatment. But James’ family is in a better position than most who lose a spouse/parent in this way after a long and financially draining battle with cancer or other illness. The land he owns really is worth a fortune. The market in Austin and the surrounding areas has absolutely exploded in recent years. They are sitting on their nest egg. And I understand not wanting to sell it, but it is always an option for them. They are not farmers or ranchers, at least not serious ones, as far as I know. They don’t need that many acres. A house with several bedrooms, a bit of a yard and a good public school system would work fine.
I have no issue with the page or people helping them out with some $$$. Not at all. I’m just saying this family is not destitute. They have money in the form of valuable real estate.
Multiple articles have cited that the Spicewood property is rented.
My understanding was they leased it first then opted to purchase.
I also read James owned property in LA that they rent out for $12K a month. They moved to TX during the pandemic as his wife is an anti vaxxer as they wanted out of CA. It seems like he was a wonderful man and I feel sorry for his family and friends.
I’ve been thinking that maybe this is framed ambiguously by fans and the media. Perhaps in this emotional state they want to be able to keep their family home so as not to add to the children’s grief. But I agree that it should be made clear for those who donate that it’s for their comfort not their survival.
If they were so financially stable, he wouldn’t have been selling memorabilia to pay his medical bills.
When was the last time that he had a steady role in anything? Unless you are a top “A-l;ister” or the current hot thing it’s hard to get steady work as an actor. It’s kind of hit or miss. Many actors have side gigs (commercials, whatever they can get). Even when he was covered by SAG insurance the out of pocket costs for cancer treatment that the insurance does not cover can wipe you out financially very quickly.
I read somewhere that the contract he signed for Dawson’s Creek was pretty meagre.
I listen to Office Ladies and they talk about this sometimes. For most actors the first contract for a TV show is not great. If it goes past a year or two the actors have more leverage for residuals, etc. And Dawson’s, similar to The Office, was before streaming so included when renewing contracts that were more lucrative, ie packaged to cable networks for reruns. Actors did not see anything when the shows were sold to Netflix, etc. and I guess streaming is tied to downloads vs reruns so not considered the same legally.
He was a writer and producer as well as actor. Obviously being sick, he wasn’t able to work. As
The last thing I saw him in was OVERCOMPENSATING and it was a minor role (like a 2 episode thing)
For people saying he did not have health insurance, I don’t believe that was true, unless it has been written somewhere as fact. IMO he most definitely had SAG medical insurance. Last year, he was a recurring character on Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Prequel, which is airing this year. On his IMDB, it shows he worked somewhat, so enough to keep his SAG medical insurance.
In America, you still spend a lot out of pocket, and he had to have an apartment while getting treatment away from his family. So even more expense. I also have a feeling he was getting alternative treatments out of pocket. Because of his wife’s stances, which he apparently took on, they were really involved in that kind of anti-vaxxer, alternative community, and his name pops up regarding that in Austin. But some are saying on the internet he wasn’t getting traditional medical treatment. I disagree. I think he did, but as he got worse, also turned most likely to expensive alternative treatments. He wanted to live. I understand that. So I am sure there’s medical debt and alternative therapy debt.
When they (his widow and a friend) put that GFM up the day he died, and it was for $350,000 as a goal. When they got more than that, they moved the goal to $500.000. When they got more than that, they moved the goal, to $1 million. Once they got more than that, they moved the goal up to $1.5 million. You get the picture. They are now at $2.3 million in donations.
They are living on a 36-acre multi-million dollar ranch, that as far as I can tell they never bought. They continued to lease and be stewards of the land and outbuildings. She could downsize and still stay in the area. They leased out their Beverly Hills home. In 2021, before his cancer diagnosis, they showed off their huge, new six-figure RV, which was top-of-the-line.
I think James was an amazing human being. But IMO this amount has gone too far. There are people out there that are really struggling while going through cancer or losing their spouse to cancer and not able to get by, who desperately need help. At no point has his widow stopped this GFM, as it went way past her initial $350,000 goal, or said she was going to give a small portion to other far less fortunate people who are going through the same struggle in her area and don’t live in a multi-million-dollar property.
I’m sure he had a life insurance policy. It’s just that as his family grew to six children, he probably never updated the original amount from much earlier when it was taken out, never thinking he would get cancer at age 45, leaving six young children.
I’m glad they’ve received a lot of money from people who loved him, but I have real feelings about the amount it’s gotten up to now, $2.3 million, showing no signs of stopping, when so many others are struggling, and more money will just mean she doesn’t have to downsize, while other less fortunate can’t pay their basic bills while dealing with cancer.
Thank you for this eloquently written comment. You’ve summed up my feelings regarding the situation. While this is being presented as a feel good story, the increasing target of the go-fund-me is leaving a bad feeling in me. Would his affluent friends and co-workers not have supported the family privately? All responses to his passing are full of affection for him, I think they would have. It seems wrong to be asking fans to contribute.
I always think of Robin Williams, who stepped in with no fanfare to pay for Christopher Reeve’s medical expenses. What a truly special man he was.
Christine – I was thinking of Robin Williams too!
Even his first wife wrote a glowing tribute to him, which I think really says something about the man.