James Van Der Beek’s 6 Children: All About His Sons and Daughters

James Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly, are the proud parents of six children: daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia and Gwendolyn, and sons Joshua and Jeremiah.

“I think fatherhood changes you from the inside out,” the Dawson’s Creek star told PEOPLE in 2013, adding that it comes with a lack of free time but that it’s a trade-off he’s happy to make for family.

Similarly, Kimberly shared that having a big family means less alone time for the couple. “Now, date nights are on the couch ordering in and snuggling up,” she told PEOPLE in 2019.

James and Kimberly (née Brook) met in July 2009 in Israel. The following April, they confirmed they were expecting their first child together. The couple quietly married in August 2010, returning to Israel for a small, spiritual ceremony.

Their eldest daughter, Olivia, was born the following month. They welcomed their second child, son Joshua, two years later. Now, the former Dancing with the Stars contestant is a dad to six — he and Kimberly welcomed their youngest son in October 2021 after several pregnancy losses.

“We have watched our lives change with each kid,” James shared with PEOPLE. “We’ve watched opportunities grow, and we’ve seen the positive effect it’s had on our other kids. And the added love brought into the house lights everybody up in a way that is kind of undeniable.”

“My philosophy has always been to be completely honest,” James told PEOPLE in 2020 about his parenting style.

The dad of six put his fatherhood philosophy into action when he shared his diagnosis of colorectal cancer in November 2024 and had to lean on his family for support. “I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” James told PEOPLE. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”

Here’s everything to know about James Van Der Beek’s children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.

Olivia Van Der Beek, 14

James and Kimberly’s first child, Olivia Van Der Beek, was born on Sept. 25, 2010, in Los Angeles.

Speaking to PEOPLE, James shared that he chose her name for a sweet reason. “We wanted her to come out and then see what her name would be.” He went on to say, “She looked like an Olivia,” before adding, “There’s an olive tree in Israel that’s special to us.”

“We spent time under it when we first met in Israel,” Kimberly added, saying that the two of them “went back to this tree when I was pregnant.”

As for Olivia’s birth, Kimberly said that despite an easy pregnancy, the delivery was difficult. Of the couple’s six children, Olivia was the only one born in a hospital.

“We were one of those couples who was all about natural birth,” James said. “Kimberly did it as naturally as she could, but at the end of the day we were very glad we were in the hospital.”

The following February, James talked to PEOPLE about life with a 5-month-old, saying, “She’s brilliant. Easily smarter than the father, already! Way smarter than me!”

Now 14 years old, Olivia and her younger brother Joshua have begun to understand their dad’s fame — and James has a Dawson’s Creek meme to thank for that.

“For some online learning, we got them iPads and they immediately discovered memes,” James told PEOPLE in 2022. “So it started, my eldest sent me a meme of myself.”

The dad of six followed up with a meme of “me dancing or something,” to which Olivia responded with James’ funny cry face. “She immediately hit me with the cry face. … I thought, ‘That’s aggressive.’ ”

Olivia made her TV debut in February 2024 when she and her dad competed on We Are Family, a game show where one member of a celebrity’s family sings onstage and the judges must guess their famous relative before that relative appears to turn their performance into a duet.

On the show, James and Olivia sang LeAnne Womack’s song, “I Hope You Dance,” and he later shared clips from their experience on Instagram and how proud he was of his daughter after performing in front of an audience for the first time.

“So proud of my baby girl. And I call her that because when I watched her tonight, all I could see was the newborn in the bassinet who I could not stop looking at in awe,” he wrote.

Joshua Van Der Beek, 12

James and Kimberly gave birth to their second child, Joshua Van Der Beek, at home on March 13, 2012.

When Kimberly was 37 weeks pregnant with Joshua, she discovered the baby was breech. Her doctor told her she would need a c-section if the baby didn’t turn — which was unsettling. In an essay for PEOPLE, Kimberly revealed she met with another doctor who was well-adept at delivering breech babies.

Since the doctor only delivered at homes or birth centers, she decided on a home birth, writing, “At 7:42 a.m. Joshua was born into James’ arms in our bed as the sun was rising. Yes, it was painful. But it was also peaceful and perfect.”

After Joshua was born, James told PEOPLE that his free time was nonexistent with two kids but being a father was “the best.”

He went on to share how both kids had varying personalities. “The biggest surprise is how different they are right out of the gate. They come out with their own thing,” he said. “My son’s a thinker. You can tell already.”

Based on his parents’ Instagram posts, Joshua appears to be a Spider-Man fan, wearing Spider-man sweatshirts and onesies. He has also inherited James’ passion for the Green Bay Packers and attended a game at Lambeau Field in 2022 with his dad.

Like big sister Olivia, Joshua has started picking up on his father’s stardom.

“My son can sniff out when we walk into a restaurant and somebody recognizes me — the skill that took me like 20 years to learn,” James told PEOPLE. “And he just gets it: ‘Daddy, those ladies at the table right now? They know.’ It’s interesting.”

Annabel Leah Van Der Beek, 10

On Jan. 25, 2014, James and Kimberly welcomed their third child, Annabel Leah Van Der Beek.

James revealed her name nearly a week after she was born during an appearance on The Talk, explaining that he and Kimberly felt they needed to meet her before deciding on a name. He also shared that they chose not to find out the sex until the day of her birth, saying, “We thought it would be fun to do it old school.”

The actor initially thought having three kids would be tricky, but after Annabel’s arrival, James told PEOPLE that she turned out to be easier than expected. He said that the little one “decided to take it easy on us.”

He went on to add, “I think she’s probably our easiest baby. I think she knew that we couldn’t handle any more than that.”

James has also praised his middle child’s sense of adventure and spontaneity on social media. When she turned 3, the couple threw Annabel a unique purple Batman-themed birthday party.

A few years later, she opted for a bold haircut that surprised and impressed him. In an Instagram video, James shared that his daughter, then 5 years old, wanted to rock an undercut and shave one side of her head.

James went on to praise her, writing in the caption, “I don’t know if my parents would have ever let me do this … because I don’t know if I would have had the balls to even go for it. VanDerBeek2.0 ❤️.”

Annabel celebrated her 10th birthday in January 2024, and James shared a clip on Instagram of the two of them together for the occasion, writing that he feels “beyond lucky” to be her dad.

“The second we got to meet you, I knew we were in for an adventure,” he wrote. “And while you clearly know fun… it’s the purity of your heart at which I marvel. Your sincerity, your kindness, and the depth with which you care is so reliable, it sets the bar for the whole family.”

Emilia Van Der Beek, 8

On March 23, 2016, James and Kimberly welcomed their fourth child, Emilia Van Der Beek, at their home in L.A.

James shared the news of his third daughter’s arrival on Instagram two days later, writing, “Crazy how deeply in love you can fall with someone you just met 😍.”

Emilia made her social media debut the following year when James shared a sweet birthday tribute on Instagram. “One year ago today, I got to meet this sweet, determined, magical little soul,” he wrote.

In 2021, James and Kimberly revealed that then-4-year-old Emilia had to go to the emergency room after injuring her head. “Emilia hit her head on a table. Needed to be glued…,” the mom wrote on her Instagram Story.

Kimberly shared in another post, “She breathed through it all and the doctors and nurses here have had a 💯 percent success rate with us of handling situations with fully informed decision offerings, friendliness and care.”

Gwendolyn Van Der Beek, 6

James and Kimberly welcomed their youngest daughter and fifth child, Gwendolyn Van Der Beek, on June 15, 2018. Like three of her older siblings, Gwendolyn was born at home with a doctor and midwife present.

In a statement to PEOPLE confirming the birth of his fifth child, James said, “Every child awakens a different energy in you … and this one has been bringing up the truth ever since we found out she was on her way.”

According to James, being the father of four girls opened his mind about what masculinity really meant. He shared a photo of Gwendolyn giving him a pink manicure on Instagram, writing “#Parenting perk: Surprise liberation from limited belief systems.”

James also gave her a sweet social media shout-out on her 4th birthday, writing, “You’re such a big personality, and you command so much of the world around you.”

In September 2020, the Van Der Beek family moved from their home in L.A. to Texas.

Speaking to Austin Lifestyle, James shared more about their decision to move. “We wanted to get the kids out of Los Angeles. We wanted to give them space and we wanted them to live in nature.”

“It’s expansive and nature will hug you and heal you,” Kimberly added, sharing that the couple had experienced two late-term miscarriages and felt like the relocation would be healing.

Roughly two years later, the Van Der Beek’s celebrated Gwendolyn’s 4th birthday with a tea party and a piñata. “Thanks for being so sensational, kiddo. So different. So you. And for taking us on the ride of our lives,” James wrote on Instagram.

Jeremiah Van Der Beek, 2

Jeremiah Van Der Beek was born in October 2021 at the couple’s ranch in Texas.

The following month, James announced the birth of his sixth child on Instagram, writing, “Humbled and overjoyed to announce the safe, happy arrival of Jeremiah Van Der Beek ❤️ (We’ve been calling him Remi, btw – not “dinosaur” 🥰).”

The pair had previously been open about their pregnancy losses, which greatly impacted them. “We kept this one quiet,” he continued. “Truthfully, I was terrified when I found out.”

According to James, having another baby was something they had “serious questions” about. In an interview with PEOPLE, Kimberly said, “The biggest concern was having enough one-on-one time with each child. And it’s getting wildly expensive to travel. But we really felt another child knocking at our door.”

She went on to say, “When we look at our kids, and they’re a tribe, and they take care of each other.”

“It can be exhausting,” James said of parenting a large family. “But we love the chaos!”

In February 2023, James and Kimberly gave fans a glimpse of what it was like traveling with their family of eight on Instagram. The actor shared photos and videos of an airplane adventure, including a family selfie on the jet bridge.

“It struck me today, as @vanderkimberly and I were managing more tiny humans than I’d previously thought possible… that any excuse for a single-minded focus on those you love most really IS a vacation: From all the stresses and ‘priorities’ constantly nipping at the back of my consciousness, vying for my attention,” wrote James in a lengthy heartfelt caption.