James Van Der Beek Is Building a Small Army
James Van Der Beek may be forever seared into our collective brains as Dawson Leery, but to his six kids, he's just dad.
The Dawson's Creek star, who shares his large brood with wife Kimberly Van Der Beek, has said that having kids changed "everything" for him.
"What you genuinely want is to take care of them, to make them feel safe, to keep them safe, to connect with them and feel that joy," he told Good Morning America in May 2023. "Your life becomes shared and your joys become shared joys, and in a really beautiful way, that expands your level of circuitry out to other people instead of just keeping it all for your own gratification."
"The lessons," he said, "they keep on coming." Read on for more about Van Der Beek's very big and very close-knit family.
Related: Katie Holmes Dishes on a Possible Dawson's Creek Reboot
How many kids does James Van Der Beek have?
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Van Der Beek and his wife share six children who range in age from almost 13 to almost 2: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.
Who is the mother of James Van Der Beek's kids?
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The Varsity Blues actor shares all six of his children with his second wife, Kimberly, whom he met in 2009 while on an organized trip to Israel. The pair fell for each other fast and got married on Aug. 1, 2010, when Kimberly was pregnant with their first child.
In celebration of their 13-year anniversary in 2023, Van Der Beek wrote on Instagram, "We’ve gone through success, tragedy, joy, stress, triumph, uncertainty, and through it all… these have been the best years of my life. Every moment. Because I have the BEST adventure partner. Our life is CRAZY right now. We might be crazier. And I wouldn’t have it any other way."
In addition to being a mom of six, Kimberly is a social media influencer and the co-host of the Bathroom Chronicles Podcast, an interview series with spiritual advisor Peggy Rometo that taps into the "honest, hilarious, revealing conversations women have in the bathroom."
Who are James Van Der Beek's kids?
Olivia Van Der Beek (Sept. 25, 2010)
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Van Der Beek's oldest child, Olivia, was born in September 2010. The actor shared with People that her name holds a special significance for him and his wife. "We wanted her to come out and then see what her name would be," he said. "She looked like an Olivia ... there's an olive tree in Israel that's special to us."
His wife added, "We spent time under it when we first met in Israel."
Olivia, now 12, has expressed an interest in fashion design, among other creative pursuits, and has been known to rib her dad for his infamous Dawson's Creek "cry face."
"For some online learning, we got them iPads and they immediately discovered memes," Van Der Beek explained in an interview with People. "...My eldest sent me a meme of myself. She immediately hit me with the cry face. I thought, ‘That’s aggressive.'"
Joshua Van Der Beek (March 13, 2012)
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Van Der Beek and Kimberly's family expanded two years later when son Joshua, now 11, joined in the fun.
Joshua's birth was a dramatic one for the family. In an essay for People, Kimberly shared that she found out her baby boy was breech (i.e. positioned feet-first) at 37 weeks. After trying natural ways to turn her baby ahead of delivery, Kimberly found a doctor who was confident he could help her have a vaginal birth (rather than a C-section), breech or not.
"I truly believe a woman should be able to plan to birth where and how she is most comfortable," she wrote. "In order to make such a decision, it’s crucial to have options."
What's the oldest Van Der Boy like? Among other things, it seems he can read people pretty well. "My son can sniff out when we walk into a restaurant and somebody recognizes me—the skill that took me like 20 years to learn," Van Der Beek told People in 2022. "And he just gets it: 'Daddy, those ladies at the table right now? They know.' It's interesting."
Annabel Van Der Beek (Jan. 25, 2014)
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After Annabel was born in 2014, Van Der Beek shared on The Talk the kismet-ish way he and his wife arrived at her name.
“We had not had a single discussion about a name before the baby was born," he revealed. "I said, ‘By the way, do you have a name?’ She said, ‘Well, only one name came to me.’ I said, ‘Yeah only one name came to me too.’ And it was the same name.”
The actor also credited Annabel, now 9, with being their "easiest baby," adding, "I think she knew that we couldn’t handle any more than that."
Emilia Van Der Beek (March 23, 2016)
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The Van Der Beek family welcomed Baby No. 4 in 2016.
Dad recently praised his 7-year-old daughter for her "deep soulfulness," "organizational skills" and "tenacity," among other things.
"Your laughter heals. Your heart dismantles dismay. And the way you sing, and dance, and play reminds me of what life is really about," he said. Aww!
Gwendolyn Van Der Beek (June 15, 2018)
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Van Der Beek celebrated the arrival of his daughter Gwendolyn in 2018.
For her fifth birthday in 2023, Van Der Beek wrote on Instagram, "So much personality in such a tiny frame. Your non-negotiable will has taught me more about parenting than I thought I had to learn. Your dark sense of humor has freed up my own ability to laugh. Your deductive reasoning skills keep me constantly on my A game."
He continued, "But what we’ve gotten to see glimpses of this year is your kindness… the sweet, loving care and thoughtfulness that comes straight from your heart and melts ours."
Jeremiah Van Der Beek (Oct. 10, 2021)
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After experiencing two heartbreaking, late-term pregnancy losses, the actor and his wife were thrilled to welcome Jeremiah into their home.
Van Der Beek posted a video of their newborn on Instagram to celebrate his arrival. "Humbled and overjoyed to announce the safe, happy arrival of Jeremiah Van Der Beek," he wrote. "...After experiencing late-term #pregnancyloss twice in a row (both at 17+ weeks), we kept this one quiet. Truthfully, I was terrified when I found out."
On the child's first birthday, Van Der Beek wrote, "One year ago today, a miracle…@vanderkimberly got into our bathtub and birthed a double-rainbow chunk-a-lunk with extra chunk...I am actually at a loss for words on how this soul has healed me, inspired me, encouraged me, and made me happy to be on this earth. I don’t even mind that I’m his second-favorite parent."
Did James Van Der Beek lose a child?
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Van Der Beek and Kimberly have been open about experiencing five miscarriages throughout their parenting journey, including two back-to-back, late-term pregnancy losses before the birth of their youngest child, Jeremiah.
The first of those late-term losses happened just before Van Der Beek was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars in November 2019.
"Wrecked. Devastated. In shock," he said on Instagram. "That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought were going to welcome into our family in April... has taken a short cut to whatever lies beyond this life. We’ve been through this before, but never this late in the pregnancy, and never accompanied by such a scary, horrific threat to @vanderkimberly and her well-being. Grateful that she’s now recovering, but we’ve only just begun unpacking the layers of this one."
Related: 'Dancing With the Stars' Makes Big Changes for Fall
Where do James Van Der Beek and his family live?
Van Der Beek and his family moved from Los Angeles, Calif., to Austin, Texas, in 2020. "We've got a great spot where we can go watch the sun go down and the kids can play," he told Good Morning America.
"I put up a bunch of ropes in the trees and they can run around and swing and kick the soccer ball and throw the football. There is no shortage of things to do, for sure."
Is James Van Der Beek done having kids?
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Following the birth of his youngest child, Jeremiah, Van Der Beek shared on Instagram that he and his wife weren't trying to have more kids at the time of his youngest's conception.
"We weren’t trying for more kids. We were done. But fortunately, this chunky little angel knew better," he said. "And when I hold him, I’m reminded of the benevolent forces out there likely laughing at my agenda ... Thank god for surprises… and thank god we SUCK at not getting pregnant."
It's unclear how the Van Der Beeks feel about expanding their family today. Time will tell!
