Who Is James Van Der Beek’s Wife? All About Kimberly Van Der Beek

Amid his cancer diagnosis, James Van Der Beek has found strength and support in his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek.

In November 2024, James told PEOPLE exclusively that he’d been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He sat down with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America a month later and shared that Kimberly has been “amazing” through it all.

“She’s really taught me what unconditional love is,” James continued. “[Cancer] has put me in a position of having to ask for help [and] having to receive help. The beautiful blessing of that has been seeing how many people in my life have shown up.”

After developing two different stomach viruses, James was unable to attend the Sept. 22 Dawson’s Creek reunion charity event in-person in New York City. While the actor was disappointed to miss the occasion, Kimberly and their children represented him in his absence.

“[It] was important to him we come!!” she wrote in the comment section of James’ cancellation post on Instagram.

James and Kimberly first crossed paths on a trip to Israel in 2009. They wed a year later and have since welcomed six children together: daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia and Gwendolyn, and sons Joshua and Jeremiah.

So, who is James Van Der Beek’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Kimberly Van Der Beek and her relationship with the actor.

She worked as a producer

Kimberly has a credit as an associate producer on the Adrian Grenier-directed documentary Teenage Paparazzo, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2010.

The documentary explores the relationship between the Entourage star and a 14-year-old photographer named Austin Visschedyk.

She met James in Israel

James and Kimberly met in Israel in 2009, shortly after his first marriage ended.

While “on a trip with an organized group,” James realized that he was “done being single” and “wanted a real relationship.”

“A soul mate. Someone with whom I could build a family,” he reflected on Instagram in honor of their 10th wedding anniversary.

James continued that he was looking for someone to build a family with, and while telling his friend about his “revelation,” Kimberly interrupted them to ask his friend a question.

Though he was caught off-guard, she made a big impression on him. A few days later, he asked what she was looking for in a relationship, but she wasn’t interested. Even though she wasn’t planning on entering a partnership, just six months later, James and Kimberly were living together and expecting a baby.

She and James married in 2010

The couple said “I do” on Aug. 1, 2010, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

James announced their nuptials on X. “The woman I love did me the honor of became my wife today,” he wrote in the since-deleted post. “I look forward to earning her for the rest of my life.”

At the time, the newly-married pair didn’t reveal many details of the wedding, but in honor of their 13th anniversary, James reflected on their special day.

He wrote on Instagram that Kimberly had a dream of a man who would officiate their wedding on a specific date. As luck would have it, he was available that night to marry them “in the basement of the Kabbalah Centre in Tel Aviv.”

James continued, “We rushed to get ready, had a bunch of people we didn’t know (and a few we did) dance around us, got ambushed by Israeli paparazzi afterwards, then ate at an outdoor Lebanese dive with plastic tablecloths and chairs and amazing food… and we were off.”

She is a mother of six

The Dawson’s Creek star and his wife, Kimberly, are the proud parents of six children together, which James says is a “humbling” experience.

“When you think you’ve got it down, you get one that throws a curveball at you,” he told PEOPLE in May 2023. “And it’s regulating our own emotions when things do get hectic and chaos ensues, which is inevitable at times.”

Their first child, daughter Olivia, was born on Sept. 25, 2010, in Los Angeles. Their family expanded when son Joshua was welcomed on March 13, 2012, and their daughter Annabel Leah was next to arrive on Jan. 25, 2014.

Another girl joined the family when Emilia was born on March 23, 2016, at their home in L.A., followed by Gwendolyn on June 15, 2018.

After thinking they were “done” having children, Jeremiah was born on Oct. 10, 2021, at the family’s ranch in Texas.

James told PEOPLE in November 2024 that he got a vasectomy not long after Jeremiah was born.

“We had one planned child. One! Out of six,” he said. “The one thing we really sucked at was not getting pregnant. I figured the only way we’re going to stop this is if we have some medical intervention.”

She has been open about pregnancy losses

James and Kimberly have candidly discussed their five miscarriages, including two back-to-back pregnancy losses.

“It’s so hard, but it’s important to talk about,” Kimberly told PEOPLE in October 2019. “We wait so long to tell people that we are pregnant so the possibility of miscarriage has decreased. But in the meantime, you’re tired, you need help and you’re going through one of the wildest times of your life.”

In 2021, the couple partnered with the American Red Cross to spread the word about how crucial blood donations are. Kimberly shared that without blood transfusions, she “probably would not be here.”

“There’s a lot of shock, absolute dread, disbelief and then helplessness accompanied by fear,” James added of the experiences. “But you go through it and you take it breath by breath. You have to let it unfold at a pace that works for you.”

She co-hosted a podcast

Along with Peggy Rometo, Kimberly co-hosted the Bathroom Chronicles podcast, which ran from January 2023 to January 2024. Past guests included Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Rumer Willis and Genevieve Padalecki.

James, who was also a guest on the show, couldn’t be prouder of his wife and her accomplishments.

“It’s been really inspirational for me to watch her get back into something that she loves, and to create a safe space for people to share honestly, openly — to laugh, to cry and know that they’re not alone in the world,” he shared with PEOPLE in May 2023.

The actor added, “I’m just so proud of her and the space that she’s creating, for her to dip into friendship and sisterhood and honesty and curiosity in the way that she does.”

She and James relocated to Texas in 2020

In the fall of 2020, James and Kimberly announced that their family was moving from L.A. to Texas.

“Sometimes a fuller life begins with an empty house,” James wrote on Instagram. “Leaving Los Angeles incredibly grateful for all the friends and memories we’ve made here. Onto the next big adventure! ❤️😊.”

Following a road trip with their kids and pets, the Van Der Beeks arrived at their new home, and James opened up more about their reasoning for leaving California.

The CSI: Cyber star revealed in an Instagram caption that apart from their pregnancy losses, there were other contributing factors in their decision to move, including a health scare for Kimberly, him being eliminated from Dancing with the Stars, the loss of his mom and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“All of that led to some drastic changes in our lives, and dreams, and priorities… and landed us here,” he explained, accompanied by photos of the family enjoying time outdoors in Texas. “Overflowing with profound gratitude today.”