James Van Der Beek's Daughters Spent Time with Their Dad on Set While He Filmed His Final Role in “Elle”, Wife Kimberly Shares
James Van Der Beek's Daughters Spent Time with Their Dad on Set While He Filmed His Final Role in “Elle”, Wife Kimberly Shares
Georgia SlaterThu, June 25, 2026 at 8:40 PM UTC
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James Van Der Beek in 'Elle,' Van Der Beek with his kidsCredit: Kimberley French/Prime Video;Kimberly Van Der Beek/Instagram -
James Van Der Beek's daughters visited him on set while he filmed his final role in Elle
"He was so proud of this role," Kimberly Van Der Beek shared on Instagram
Co-showrunner Caroline Dries praised James for his kindness and positivity during his final days on set
James Van Der Beek was able to spend some special time with his daughters on set while he filmed his final role.
On Thursday, June 25, the late actor's wife, Kimberly, shared a PEOPLE video on her Instagram Story from the New York City premiere of Elle, the new Legally Blonde prequel series in which James makes his final onscreen appearance. James died in February at age 48 after he was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
Above the video, which features co-showrunner Caroline Dries taking a moment at the premiere to remember the late actor, Kimberly, 44, shared that two of the couple's daughters, Emilia, 10, and Annabel, 12, were able to visit James while he was on the set of Elle.
"Emilia and Annabel had the pleasure of separately being on set with him. They treated the kiddos beautifully and he was so proud of this role... especially because his daughters were so looking forward to watching it!" wrote the mom of six.
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James and Kimberly Van Der Beek with their children.Credit: James Van Der Beek/Instagram
In Dries's speech at the premiere, she shared that James, who plays a mayoral hopeful in the upcoming series, was "buoyant and happy" when working on the show.
"James told me that acting allowed him to be someone [else] and forget the pain he was in," Dries said before a screening of the first two episodes. "But even off camera, James appeared to be buoyant and happy."
"He brought his daughters to set, he sat with us on plastic folding chairs in video village, he made us laugh, he told us stories and he showed us nothing but kindness," she said. "This would be James' last role. Our cast gave him the space to feel that joy."
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James Van Der Beek poses for a photo with his family.Credit: James Van Der Beek/Instagram
Last week, Kimberly paid tribute to her late husband and celebrated him as a great dad on the first Father's Day after his death.
"Missing you so much and thinking of how magnificent you were in every single way today," Kimberly wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday, June 21.
"And somehow, from the other side? You continue to parent," she continued. "You're a marvel. 🩵."
James Van Der Beek with his family.Credit: James Van Der Beek/Instagram
Kimberlee included more than a dozen photographs with her Instagram tribute, including snapshots of James with all of the couple's children, as well as images of him posing one-on-one with the kids.
James and Kimberly first crossed paths on a trip to Israel in 2009. They wed a year later and went on to welcome six children together: daughters Olivia, 15, Annabel, Emilia, and Gwendolyn, 8, as well as sons Joshua, 14, and Jeremiah, 4.
The late actor first announced his cancer diagnosis exclusively with PEOPLE in November 2024, saying he was focusing on his health and family. (The cancer was discovered after a routine colonoscopy in August 2023.)
Kimberly announced the news of James' death through an Instagram post earlier this year. Sharing a professional photo of the actor, she wrote, "Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
