Despite his starring in “Dawson’s Creek,” one of the most popular teen shows of the late ‘90s, James Van Der Beek’s loved ones have found themselves struggling financially following his recent death from colorectal cancer.

The actor’s wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, announced his death on Instagram Wednesday, writing that he “met his final days with courage, faith and grace.” He was 48 years old.

In the wake of the sad news, friends of the family launched a GoFundMe page, which has netted more than $2.3 million, far surpassing its $1.5 million goal.

“The costs of James’s medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds,” the page reads. “They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time.”

All of the proceeds will go toward supporting Van Der Beek’s wife and their six children, daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, and Gwendolyn, and sons Joshua and Jeremiah. The funds will specifically “cover essential living expenses, pay bills and support the children’s education.”

Van Der Beek previously revealed he did not receive any residuals for his work on “Dawson’s Creek,” in which he starred alongside Katie Holmes as the hunky title character, Dawson Leery, for all six seasons. It ran for a total of 128 episodes, airing on The WB network from Jan. 20, 1998, to May 14, 2003.

What’s more, colorectal cancer has the second-highest treatment cost of any cancer, making up 11.6% of all cancer treatment costs, per the Centers for Disease Control.

“There was no residual money [from the show],” he told Today.com in a 2012 interview. “I was 20. It was a bad contract. I saw almost nothing from that.”

That same year, the series “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23” premiered on ABC. It starred Krysten Ritter, Dreama Walker and Van Der Beek as a campy version of himself. He told Today he signed on to do the show — and other projects — to better support his family.

“It is very easy if you have all the money in the world to just sit back and coast,” he said at the time. “But if you realized that you are going to have to start providing for yourself and for your family, it really forces you to buckle down.”

Van Der Beek also addressed the matter of residuals amid the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

“The big things have to do with issues that would allow writers and actors who are just starting out to earn something that looks like a living wage — things like residuals, which have all but disappeared in the streaming era,” he said in a clip shared on Instagram.

“These are nothing to multibillion-dollar corporations, but they’re everything to people trying to pay their groceries and their rent.”

©2026 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.