James Van Der Beek’s Net Worth : Lifestyle & Career
An American actor, known professionally as Dawson Leery in the WB television series “Dawson’s Creek,” James Van Der Beek’s net worth is a staggering $8 million as of 2024.
Aside from this iconic role, James has a long list of other film and television credits to his name.
James David Van Der Beek was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, on March 8, 1977.
His father was a major league baseball pitcher before working for a cell phone firm as an executive. His mother was a professional dancer and gymnastics instructor in the past.
“Van Der Beek” is a Dutch surname that approximately translates to “from the stream.”
James persuaded his mother to take him to New York City when he was 15 years old to follow his professional actor ambition.
He quickly rose to prominence in various theatre shows, landing roles in off-Broadway musicals such as “Rain Dance” and “Finding the Sun.”
James applied for “Dawson’s Creek” in 1997 and was cast in a prominent part in the pilot. The pilot was accepted, and it was a huge hit for six seasons. His success on television helped him gain notoriety, and he went on to star in films like “Varsity Blues.”
He proceeded to appear in notable films such as “Texas Rangers,” “Scary Movie,” and “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” throughout the next few years. He made his acting debut in the 2002 film “The Rules of Attraction,” which became a cult classic.
Soon after, he had a string of direct-to-DVD film roles, as well as appearances on shows including “How I Met Your Mother,” “Ugly Betty,” and “Criminal Minds.”
Quick Facts
So, let’s get to know James Van Der Beek a little better, starting with some basic facts about her.
| Full Name | James Van Der Beek |
|---|---|
| Known name | James Van Der Beek |
| Date of Birth | March 8, 1977 |
| Birthplace | Cheshire, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Age | 47 Years |
| Nationality | American |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Ethnicity | Dutch |
| Gender | Male |
| Mother | Henry Fonda |
| Father | France Ford Seymour |
| Siblings | Julian and Jared Van Der Beek |
| Height | In Centimetres – 183 cm In Feet and Inches – 6′ 0″ |
| Weight |
In Kilograms – 74 Kg
In Pounds – 163 lbs |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| School | Cheshire Academy |
| College | Drew University |
| Source of Wealth | Television and film career |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Active Years | 1992–present |
| Profession | Professional Actor |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Girlfriend | N/A |
| Spouse | Kimberly Brook |
| Children | Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Amelia, and Gwendolyn |
| Ex-Spouse | Heather McComb (m. 2003; div. 2010) |
| Yearly Salary | $1.72 Million |
| Net Worth | $8 Million |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter, Wikipedia, Facebook |
| Last Update | November, 2024 |
James Van Der Beek’s Net Worth and Income
An American actor, known professionally as Dawson Leery in the WB television series “Dawson’s Creek,” James Van Der Beek’s net worth is a staggering $8 million as of 2024.
Van Der Beek agreed to pay Heather Ann McComb $7,750 per month in spousal support for two and a half years when he divorced her in 2010. According to divorce filings, Van Der Beek’s monthly income was $35,000, while McComb’s was barely $1,750.
Van Der Beek kept their home in North Hollywood, the bank accounts, and all of the residuals from his performances, as well as the rights to the projects he created as part of the settlement.
Ironically, when he finished paying McComb, he had spent all of his Dawson’s Creek money.
Van Der Beek has remarried since then. He and his wife Kimberly have five children together. They have recently migrated to Austin, Texas, after abandoning California owing to the tight restrictions.
Because Van Der Beek had the financial means to make it happen, the family of seven was able to relocate fast. The 43-year-old actor is currently worth $8 million.
Let’s have a look at his earnings from the year 1997-2018:
| Year | Earnings |
|---|---|
| 1997 | $20,680 |
| 1999 | $54.5 million |
| 2000 | $278,020,000 |
| 2001 | $37.41 million |
| 2002 | $11,820,000 |
| 2006 | $30,140 |
| 2010 | $3,87,410 |
| 2011 | $7,300 |
| 2012 | $61,470 |
| 2014 | $26.92 million |
| 2017 | $55,000,000 |
| 2018 | $2,460,000 |
James Van Der Beek’s Net Worth in Different Currencies
Let’s look at James Van Der Beek’s Net Worth in several currencies, including BitCoin, the cryptocurrency.
| Currency | Net Worth |
| Euro | € 6,734,292 |
| Pound Sterling | £ 5,730,600 |
| Australian Dollar | A$ 10,810,808 |
| Canadian Dollar | C$ 9,974,800 |
| Indian Rupee | ₹ 594,036,000 |
| BitCoin | ฿ 198 |
James Van Der Beek: House and Car
House
Van Der Beek paid $1.26 million for a home in Valley Village in 2005. James instantly turned the 3,000-square-foot house into an investment property, leasing it out for $5,000 per month.
He sold the home in 2014 for $1.15 million, a tiny loss on his initial investment, after getting a lot of rental revenue from it.
Beverly Hills Home
James Van Der Beek has moved on from Los Angeles. In September, the actor and his wife, Kimberly, revealed that their family relocated to Texas from Beverly Hills, California.
Their extended family has relocated to a 36-acre ranch outside of Austin. Their voyage to Spicewood, Texas, was documented through Instagram videos and photos.
They have the main house, a pool, several cabins, and a backyard with views of the Pedernales River on their wooded property.
The Van Der Beeks are leasing a 5,149-square-foot property with five bedrooms and three bathrooms. According to an old listing, the beachfront home, which isn’t on the market right now, is a great spot to “channel your ‘hippie cowboy,'” an old listing.
Cars
Getting your first ever brand new car as a teenager is a normal rite of passage. And when James Van Der Beek was 17, his car was in such bad shape.
“I bought a 1986 candy-apple-red Hyundai Excel for $800 with the money I had made doing theater,” the former “Dawson’s Creek” actor recounts on this week’s show of “When I Was 17,”
It also featured “Jersey Shore” star Snooki and N.E.R.D. Vocalist Pharrell Williams. The car had “a lot of miles on it,” according to Van Der Beek.
Van Der Beek wasn’t winning any points with the women in the beat-up automobile. He joked, “The automobile was just a prophylactic on wheels.”
James Van Der Beek: Lifestyle and Vacation
Lifestyle
James Van Der Beek played Dawson Leery on Dawson’s Creek for a generation, and it’s safe to say the legendary ’90s television character made the actor recognized worldwide.
Van Der Beek has worked steadily since his breakout performance in Varsity Blues, but he leads a relatively relaxed lifestyle when he’s not acting.
The actor, who has a lovely wife and a huge family, appears to prefer spending time with his loved ones at home or on the road over walking red carpets and attending expensive events.
Cool Father
James Van Der Beek is ecstatic that his five children still believe he’s cool, even though he’s a total loving father. Raising children as a renowned actor, the Pose star told Fatherly, has been “interesting.”
He went on to say that his children are used to people asking for pictures and that “we try not to make a big deal out of it.” For the time being, perhaps? “They seem unconcerned about it,” he observed.
“They’re still little enough that anything I do seems cool to them. So I’m simply going to enjoy it while it lasts.”
However, the actor appears to be aware that his children would not always think he is “cool.”
Work out
On Wednesday, James Van Der Beek published a before-and-after photo demonstrating how dramatically dancing had changed his body.
The 87-the year-old actor was a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars,” but he departed the show two weeks ago after coming fifth.
And the adjustment in his fitness program had a noticeable impact on his appearance.
Van Der Beek revealed in the Instagram caption that his previous workout routine consisted of three days of Muay Thai three times a week, which he had been practicing for six months when he snapped the first selfie.
Simplicity
While many celebrities appear to enjoy the lavish lifestyles that celebrity brings them, James Van Der Beek appears to be content with a quiet existence at home and the occasional trip to a restaurant.
In fact, the actor claims that the thing he would miss most if he weren’t famous is actually rather understandable.
Van Der Beek admitted in an interview with iNews, “I’m not sure what I’d do if I went to a crowded restaurant and approached the hostess and didn’t think there was a high chance I’d still be able to obtain a table. That is my special ability. If that superpower were taken away from me, I’d be devastated.”
Aside from appreciating getting a table at any restaurant, the CSI: Cyber actress gave some advice to today’s youthful stars, such as the Stranger Things kids. “You don’t change overnight,” he explained to iNews, “but how people treat you changes.”
Because of anything that is fundamentally fictitious.” Van Der Beek appears to have his feet firmly planted on the ground and is unfazed by the so-called celebrity lifestyle.
Vacation
When the Van Der Beeks decided to relocate from Los Angeles to Texas, they took a road trip. Rather than hiring a moving company, the family rented an RV and set out on a cross-country road trip, chronicling their experiences along the way.
James Van Der Beek added, “I shared some nice images from the voyage on Instagram.”
“A ten-day road trip There are five children. There are two dogs. We also got two young rescue puppies on the first day. Because it isn’t an adventure unless your excellent friends try to convince you out of at least some part of your vacation.”
James Van Der Beek recalls one of his memorable family vacations.
With all five of their children in tow, the Pose star and his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek made a road trip to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada near the end of 2018!
Their children — son Joshua, 6, and girls Olivia, 8, Annabel, 4, Emilia, 2, and Gwendolyn, 7 months — had a great time exploring the canyons and eating salads in an RV during their trip.
James, 41, uploaded a series of images from his vacation a week after returning to Los Angeles, including a sweet full-family shot and photos of the youngsters soaking in the sights.
Stage Career, Movies, and TV Shows, Book Publications
Stage Career
Van Der Beek began his professional debut at 16 in an off-Broadway play called “Finding the Sun.”
After dropping out of university, Van Der Beek won a role in “My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine” at New York’s Vineyard Theater. He performed many auditions for tv shows and movies while acting on stage.
Van Der Beek did not return to the stage until 2003 when he played a minor role in the off-Broadway production of “Rain Dance.”
Movies and TV Shows
One thing is certain: Dawson’s Creek is the project for which he is most well-known. As a result, that’s probably the best place to start.
The show debuted on WB and lasted six seasons, with the final episode airing on May 14, 2003. Even though Dawson’s Creek aired from 1998 to 2003, James Van Der Beek did not profit until 2012.
Throughout all of the seasons, he testified that he was paid next to nothing. This was due to a lousy contract and a general lack of experience in the entertainment industry.
It’s quite tough to say how much money the actor made from his other series. Nonetheless, they have undoubtedly boosted James Van Der Beek’s net worth. Over the years, he has made an appearance in a large variety of productions.
He went on to play Sean Bateman in the film adaption of the novel Rules of Attraction in 2002. The picture garnered mixed reviews; while it bombed at the box office, it followed a devoted DVD.
In 2006, he starred in the Direct-to-DVD thriller The Plague. The critics were also harsh on this film.
His role in the iconic TV show How I Met Your Mother was another memorable performance that undoubtedly earned some cash. He played the character, Simon, in the show’s ninth season.
That episode aired on November 25, 2013, and it unquestionably improved his notoriety as well as his net worth.
Book Publication
As per the research, James Van Der Beek has not written any book so far. Therefore, it is yet to be written.
Divorce Financial
James Van Der Beek wedded Heather McComb in 2003. The divorce papers surfaced in 2010, revealing that Van Der Beek was making around $50,000 per month at the time. That works out to roughly $600,000 per year.
In August 2010, he wedded business consultant Kimberly Brook. They have a total of five children.
Even though they stated they were expecting a sixth child, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage in 2019.
Career
James Van Der Beek applied for three television pilots in early 1997. One of which was for the WB Network’s new show, “Dawson’s Creek.”
He starred as Sean Bateman in the film version of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel “The Rules of Attraction” in 2002.
In 2008, he began a recurring role on “One Tree Hill” as a filmmaker, essentially Dawson Leery’s sarcastic opposite.
In the fifth season of ‘Medium,’ he made an appearance in one episode. Van Der Beek was cast in a big recurring role on the television series “Mercy” on January 5, 2010.
Dr. Joe Briggs, the new womanizing ICU chief with a terrible secret, was played by him.
Van Der Beek starred in the British comedy series “Carters Get Rich” in 2017. He’s also the founder and performer of the comedy series “What Would Diplo Do?” in which he plays producer and DJ Diplo.
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Charity
James Van Der Beek wants to help end period poverty after becoming a father to four daughters.
The actor said he would be collaborating with Walmart and the menstruation brand to support their joint #EndPeriodPoverty campaign in an Instagram post.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the issue and provide menstruation products to prevent girls from missing out on activities that promote confidence.
3 Interesting Facts About James Van Der Beek
- James is the oldest of three brothers and sisters. Before he was born, his father was a small league baseball player, and his mother was a dancer. His father went on to work for the telephone business, while his mother ran and owned a gymnastics studio.
- He begged his mother to accompany him to New York City when he was 15 to get an agent and try his hand at professional acting.
- On weekends, James loves watching baseball and football, and he still participates whenever he has the opportunity.
FAQS
Why did James Vanderbeek decide to retire from acting?
With his five children and two dogs in tow, the actor and his wife, Kimberly, moved from their Beverly Hills home to the Lone Star state this week. After a traumatic year that included multiple family tragedies and his “premature” removal from “Dancing With the Stars” last November, he made the decision, he said.
When James Van Der Beek’s wife miscarried, she was how many months pregnant?
The 38-year-old, who has three children with actor James Van Der Beek: Olivia, 10, Joshua, 8, Annabel, 6, and Emilia, 4, had a miscarriage at 17 weeks pregnant in November 2019.
What is James Van Der Beek up to these days?
James Van Der Beek has moved on from Los Angeles. In September, the actor and his wife, Kimberly, revealed that their family relocated to Texas from Beverly Hills, California. Their extended family has relocated to a 36-acre ranch outside of Austin.
