James Van Der Beek considered his sixth and youngest child a ray of sunshine before his painful cancer diagnosis.

In a November 2022 interview with PEOPLE that resurfaced on Friday, February 13, the late American actor reflected on his life before his death from stage III colorectal cancer at the age of 48 on February 11, 2026.

James revealed that welcoming his youngest son, Jeremiah, in October 2021 marked a special and fulfilling chapter for his family.

“He’s really been a blessing. I mean, this is going to sound weird, but when he arrived, we honestly just thought, ‘Oh my God, how did we exist without him?’ Which is insane because we had five children before that,” he said at the time.

The Dawson’s Creek star continued, “But given everything we went through leading up to him, the fact that he was a boy just felt so healing for us.”

“He anchors the family in a really beautiful way. The girls all dote on him. My son loves being a big brother. And yeah, he’s just this magical, happy little king — booty boy that gets everything he wants,” he noted, adding, “And is not afraid to demand it.”

How many kids did James Van Der Beek have?

James Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, whom he married in 2010, share six children together: daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, and Gwendolyn, and sons Joshua and Jeremiah.

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