James Van Der Beek: 2 marriages and 6 children (which could have been 11)

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

He was one of the big TV stars of the 1990s and early 2000s, thanks to ‘Dawson's Creek’. But the other characters he played in  ‘One Tree Hill’ or ‘The O.C.’ also gave him international fame and saw him become a popular feature on the posters in many teenagers' rooms at the time.

Mass phenomenon

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

Together with Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams, they won the hearts of millions for five years and six seasons, but the series ended in 2003, and, since then, the life of the actor has changed dramatically.

I was aiming to be an athlete but...

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

Young James Van Der Beek had more ambitions to become a professional athlete than an actor. He did football, athletics, and baseball, even getting a sports scholarship to the private Cheshire Academy. However, an injury at the age of 13 sent him into the world of acting instead.

Great debut

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

His first role came in the Cheshire theatre community, where he played Danny Zuko in ‘Grease’. Two years later, at the age of 15, he moved to New York to find an agent and pursue his newly discovered passion.

Dawson arrived and with him came fame

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

After several minor roles, James Van Der Beek got the role of his life: Dawson Leery, star of the youth drama created by the genius Kevin Williamson.

The peak of his career

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

For six seasons, Dawson enjoyed fame, wealth, and prestige thanks to the success of the series. He was incredibly popular and attracted the attention of Hollywood. However, behind this glowing façade, a less brilliant reality lurked: the actor often found it difficult to secure valuable film or television projects.

First marriage

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

Meanwhile, the same year that ‘Dawson's Creek’ ended, the actor married actress Heather McComb. This then ended in 2010, and before that, they had already been separated for several years.

Second time was the charm

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

Cupid's first arrow failed, but the second one hit the target. James Van Der Beek almost immediately started dating Kimberly Brook, a business consultant.

The big announcement

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

The surprise was huge when, in April 2010, the actor announced on Twitter that he and Kimberly Brook were expecting their first child. In fact, the couple got married when Kimberly was eight months pregnant. The birth of Olivia, their eldest child, radically changed James's life.

Family comes first

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

And so it was that James Van Der Beek decided to significantly reduce his commitments in the world of film and television, preferring to concentrate on raising his family together with his wife.

Five more!

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

In the following decade, the couple had five more children: Joshua (2012), Annabel Leah (2014), Emilia (2016), Gwendolyn (2018) and Jeremiah (2021). Half a dozen children and a few highly selected projects, such as the series ‘Pose’ or ‘CSI: Cyber’ was enough for the actor.

'What you want most is to take care of your children'

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

The actor himself acknowledged on ‘Good Morning America’ that fatherhood has transformed him. "What you want most is to take care of your kids, make them feel safe, and be with them."

Photo: vanderjames / Instagram

Five miscarriages

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

Yes, six children are indeed a lot, but the Van Der Beek family could have had up to 11 in total. James Van Der Beek revealed during some Instagram feeds that his wife, Kimberly Brook, has unfortunately suffered five miscarriages.

Learning from the hardships

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

"[I am] astounded by how much I didn’t know about the path to where I am now… and by how much peace I was able to feel in the midst of that darkness," he commented in a post on the social network.

Photo: vanderjames / Instagram

Very active on social media

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

Instagram has become his direct point of contact with fans, as he often shares advice on parenting and life in general.

And the job?

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

And at work? Until 2021, he voiced Boris in the animated series ‘Vampirina’, which he had done since 2017. Then, it got a little quieter, but in 2025, we could see him in 'The Masked Singer'. He's also set to appear in the 2026 Amazon Prime series 'Elle'.

His best role: being a dad

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

However, James Van Der Beek seems to be more comfortable in the role of father than any other. It is clear that this will be his main commitment in the coming decades.

Photo: vanderjames / Instagram

The 'Stifler syndrome'

Do you remember James Van Der Beek?, Mass phenomenon, I was aiming to be an athlete but..., Great debut, Dawson arrived and with him came fame, The peak of his career, First marriage, Second time was the charm, The big announcement, Family comes first, Five more!, 'What you want most is to take care of your children', Five miscarriages, Learning from the hardships, Very active on social media, And the job?, His best role: being a dad, The 'Stifler syndrome'

Of course, no matter how much time he spends or how far he moves away from Hollywood, for millions, he will always be Dawson. It is what we might call the ‘Stifler syndrome’, when characters become so iconic that it is difficult to remember the name of the actor playing them: Stifler, Steve Urkel, Xena, or Buffy are just a few examples.

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