Katie Holmes Mourns James Van Der Beek With Handwritten Message: ‘The Journey of a Hero’

The death of James Van Der Beek continues to be felt throughout Hollywood, with his “Dawson’s Creek” co-star Katie Holmes choosing to honor the late actor with a handwritten note.

“I formed some words with a heavy heart. This is a lot to process. I am so grateful to have shared in a piece of James’ journey,” the actress captioned her message on Instagram. “He is beloved. Kimberly, we love you and will be here always for you and your beautiful children.”

“James. Thank you. To share space with your imagination is sacred — breathing the same airing the land of make believe and trusting that each others’ hearts are in their expression,” Holmes shared. “These are some of the memories, along with laughter, conversations about life, James Taylor songs — adventures of a unique youth.”

“Bravery. Compassion. Selflessness. Strength. An appreciation for life and the action taken to live life with the integrity that life is art — creating a beautiful marriage, six loving children — the journey of a hero,” she continued. “I mourn this loss with a heart holding the reality of his absence and deep gratitude for his imprint on it.”

Holmes concluded, “To Kimberly and the children, we are here for you always. And will always be there to shower you with love and compassion.”

The pair starred together as best friends Dawson and Joey across six seasons of their WB teen drama from 1998 to 2003. Fellow co-star Busy Philipps also shared a tribute to Van Der Beek following his death at age 48 on Wednesday.

“My heart is deeply hurting for all of us today… every person who knew James and loved him, anyone who loved his work or had the pleasure of meeting him, all of his dear friends and community that surrounded him as he battled this illness, especially his parents and brother and sister,” she shared. “But I am profoundly heartbroken for his incredible wife Kimberly and their six magical children.”

“There is a GoFundMe for them to help out and I’ll put the link in my stories. James Van Der Beek was one in a billion and he will be forever missed and I don’t know what else to say. I am just so so sad,” Philipps added. “He was my friend and i loved him and i’m so grateful for our friendship all these years.”

Van Der Beek died on Wednesday after publicly battling colorectal cancer since November 2024 following his initial diagnosis in August 2023. He is survived by his wife Kimberly and their six children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.

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