James Van Der Beek's 9-year-old daughter opens up on grief as she shares heartbreaking birthday tribute

James Van Der Beek's daughter has opened up about struggling with grief on his birthday after the actor passed away last month.

Nine-year-old Emilia shared a birthday tribute to her late dad on what would have been his 49th birthday on March 8.

Van Der Beek passed away after battling colorectal cancer.

The Dawson’s Creek actor, who was best known for starring in films and TV shows like Varsity Blues, and The Rules of Attraction, died on Tuesday February 11 aged 48, having come out publicly about his cancer diagnosis in 2024.

His family, who had a GoFundMe page set up for them following his death, announced the news as they described him as 'a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend'.

Van Der Beek is survived by his six children, and wife Kimberly.

His middle child, Emilia, took to her mom’s Instagram account to mark the occasion, and to also reveal what life has been like since her dad passed.

In the caption, her mom wrote: “Emilia asked me if she could make a video to post today, walked outside and came back with this.

“In my stories are a whole lot of photos and some videos. All I want to do is watch videos of him right now with the kids. Thank you for the tremendous heart, love and support for the family.

“James... We will celebrate March 8th every day for the rest of our lives.”

In the clip, Emilia explained: “I know that my dad's in a good place. He's not in pain anymore.”

“As you will probably know, my dad has passed away,” she said before revealing she wanted to share some advice to help people get ‘through anybody you love passing.'

“So today is my dad's birthday, and the number one thing for somebody's passing is to talk to them and let your emotions out,” she said. “If you miss them, you can cry. You can talk to them. I talk to my dad every day.”

The youngster said: “I start with a sentence, and I say, ‘Hi, Dad. I miss you and I love you so much, and I'll never stop loving you.’

“I just tell him about my day, how I'm feeling, and I told my family how I'm feeling. And I know he can hear me, but I can't hear him.”

Noting that passed loved ones are ‘in your heart’ and ‘watching over you’, she said they’re ‘in a good place’.

As for her dad, she said ‘he's in heaven above the clouds with God and the Lord.'

Later in the clip she revealed she had ‘stole’ her dad’s hat and it ‘smells like him’.

“I know that he was a good man. A lot of people loved him, and people prayed for him, and he was loved by ... many, many people,” she said.

She then went on to thank those who donate to her family’s fund, which currently sits at $2,757,409.