Profile Text
Van Der Beek in 2012, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: James David Van Der Beek
Date of Birth: March 8, 1977
Place of Birth: Cheshire, Connecticut, U.S.
Date of Death: February 11, 2026
Place of Death: Austin, Texas, U.S.
Ethnicity: German, Dutch, some English and Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, small amount of French
James Van Der Beek was an American actor. He starred as Dawson Leery on the show Dawson’s Creek . His roles also included the films Angus , I Love You, I Love You Not ; Varsity Blues , Scary Movie (2000), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back , Texas Rangers , The Rules of Attraction , Castle in the Sky , The Plague (2006), Final Draft , Formosa Betrayed , Stolen (2009), The Big Bang (2011), Labor Day (2013), Downsizing , Jay and Silent Bob Reboot , Bad Hair , Sidelined: The QB and Me , and its sequel, Sidelined 2: Intercepted ; the shows As the World Turns , How I Met Your Mother , One Tree Hill , The Storm , Mercy , Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 , Friends with Better Lives , CSI: Cyber , Carters Get Rich , What Would Diplo Do? , which he wrote and co-created; Vampirina , and Pose ; and the made-for-tv movies Eye of the Beast and Jodi Picoult’s Salem Falls .
He was the son of Melinda, a dancer and gymnastics teacher, and James Van Der Beek, a cell phone company executive and minor league baseball player. His father was roughly of half Dutch and half German descent. His name means “from the creek” in Dutch. James was married to business consultant Kimberly Brook, until his death, with whom he had six children. The two married at the Kabbalah Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
James’s paternal grandfather was Harry Clifford Vanderbeek/Van Der Beek (the son of Harry Blanchard Vanderbeek and Anna Hasbrouck). James’s grandfather Harry was born in River Edge, Bergen County, New Jersey, and was of Dutch descent. James’s great-grandfather Harry was the son of Issac Vanderbeck and Anna. James’s great-grandmother Anna Hasbrouck was born in Passaic, Passaic County, the daughter of Augustus Hasbrouck and Ann/Anna Herring Devoe.
James’s paternal grandmother was Louise Lutjens (the daughter of Herman Lutjens and Rosina/Rose Schwamb). Louise was born in Queens, New York City, New York. Herman was born in Rotenburg, Germany. Rosina was born in Ridgewood, Queens, of German descent, the daughter of Theodore Schwamb, whose parents were from Rheinland-Pfalz; and of Barbara Schmidt, whose parents were from Bavaria.
James’s maternal grandfather was Franz Reinhold Weber (the son of Gustav F. Weber and Blossom White). Franz was born in Minnesota. Gustav was born in Paris, France, to a father from Germany and a mother from France.
James’s maternal grandmother was Elizabeth/Eliza Bell Rogers (the daughter of Franz Emil Rogers and Florence May Bell). James’s grandmother Elizabeth was born in Indiana, and had English, German, and Scots-Irish/Northern Irish ancestry. Franz was born in Indiana, the son of Elijah Eden Rogers and Susan Malinda/Melinda Harmon. Florence was the daughter of Nathaniel Bell and Margaret Adalaide Troutman.
Sources: https://www.usmagazine.com
Genealogy of James Van Der Beek – https://www.geni.com
James’s paternal grandfather, Harry Clifford Van Der Beek, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
James’s paternal grandmother, Louise Lutjens, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
James’s maternal grandfather, Franz Reinhold Weber, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org