James Van Der Beek’s GoFundMe surpasses $2m as Steven Spielberg’s $25k donation moves Dawson’s Creek fans

People who admired James Van Der Beek were thrilled to learn that a GoFundMe campaign created to support his family had raised over $2 million by Thursday.

The fundraiser quickly surpassed its goal, hitting the mark just after 10 p.m. Eastern Time. This happened in less than 48 hours after the GoFundMe was created on Wednesday, following the announcement of the Dawson’s Creek star’s passing at age 48.

The fundraiser surpassed its original goal of $550,000, and then a later, increased goal of $1.5 million, ultimately raising over $2 million.

I was so incredibly saddened to hear about the passing of Van Der Beek. He fought a brave battle with colorectal cancer, having been diagnosed back in August 2023. He kept it private for a while, only sharing the news with everyone in November 2024. It’s just heartbreaking.

A GoFundMe campaign was created to support Kimberly, the widow of the actor, and their six children. The family reportedly exhausted their finances during his long and costly battle with cancer.

Besides a repeat donation from Zoë Saldaña, a significant contribution came from Steven Spielberg, who is a very well-known figure.

The famous director and his wife, Kate Capshaw, donated $25,000 to the GoFundMe campaign. This was the second-largest contribution, following a $30,000 anonymous donation.

Although Van Der Beek and Spielberg didn’t work together professionally, Spielberg’s contribution resonated with fans of Dawson’s Creek because the character played by the late actor greatly admired Spielberg.

Dawson, much like the director of Jaws, dreamed of making movies and filled his room with posters of Spielberg’s films to motivate himself.

Last year, Steven Spielberg connected with fans of Dawson’s Creek by sending a video message to a reunion event. The original cast participated by performing a live reading of the script from the show’s very first episode, which aired in 1998.

James Van Der Beek couldn’t attend the reunion because he was sick, so Lin-Manuel Miranda read the lines for his character, Dawson. However, the rest of the original cast was there, including Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, and Busy Philipps. Renée Elise Goldsberry, known for her role in Hamilton, narrated the event.

While Van Der Beek couldn’t be there in person, he did speak to his fans via a video message.

He shared in a video, as reported by Variety, that he was upset he couldn’t hug his fellow cast members. He explained he’d wanted to go on stage and personally thank everyone in the audience for attending.

After the reading concluded, he returned with another video message.

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Van Der Beek jokingly pointed out a surprising connection between his character, Dawson, and the Phantom of the Opera: both were told by the women they loved to go to the man she actually wanted to be with. He quipped, ‘Only one of those situations led to a famous crying meme!’ He then introduced Norm Lewis, who performed ‘The Music Of The Night’.

It was then that Spielberg made an appearance via video to salute the show.

I was so thrilled to hear him say, ‘Dawson, you made it!’ Someone in the audience captured it on video, and it was amazing. He then jokingly said he hoped one day he’d get to have a ‘Dawson’s closet’ – a really special moment for any fan like me!

Wicked director Jon Chu also made one of the top donations to Van Der Beek’s GoFundMe with $10,000.

Following the passing of James Van Der Beek on Wednesday, Zoë Saldaña has begun making regular donations to his family.

Screenshots from the GoFundMe website seem to show the 47-year-old actress was making $2,500 monthly donations.

People were touched and surprised by Zoe Saldana’s kindness to James Van Der Beek’s family. They had revealed they were struggling financially after Van Der Beek passed away at age 48.

I was so saddened to hear about the passing of the Dawson’s Creek actor. While I’ve been a fan of both of them for years, it seems they never actually shared many scenes together on screen. I’m not sure if they were close friends outside of work, but it’s just heartbreaking to lose such a talented person.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Saldana’s representatives for comment.

She shared a heartfelt post on Instagram on Wednesday, mourning the loss of Van Der Beek.

Honestly, this news just completely floored me. I saw the post – a beautiful picture of him – and my heart just broke. She said it perfectly: sending all my love and deepest sympathy to his family right now. It’s just… devastating.

On X, several accounts noted her apparent charity.

One X user praised Zoe Saldana for her incredible generosity, noting that she donates $2,500 every month to James Van Der Beek’s family following his recent loss. They called it ‘the most beautiful thing’ they’ve ever witnessed.

The post featured a screenshot of the donation, made under the actress’s married name, Zoe Saldana–Perego.

People online praised Saldana for supporting the Van Der Beek family, including his wife, Kimberly, and their six kids.

‘What an incredibly kind gesture from a wonderful young lady,’ one said.

‘Wow, monthly, that is amazing and will be such a relief to a grieving mom,’ another chimed in.

‘Monthly support like that? Zoe Saldana is setting the standard for humanity,’ a user wrote.

Someone else commented that her consistent monthly support really highlights what a good person she is.

Some people criticized Saldana’s donation, either because they felt it was too small considering her wealth, or because they doubted the fundraising campaign would run long enough for her pledged monthly donations to make a significant impact for Van Der Beek’s family.

Okay, so Zoe Saldana is, like, worth sixty million dollars, right? Sixty million! And someone actually offered her two thousand five hundred bucks? It’s…it’s something, I guess. Honestly, it’s just wild to think about, considering everything she’s done. Still, I guess even a little bit is better than nothing for Zoe!

Someone else pointed out that she’s the highest-paid actor ever, implying even that wasn’t a sufficient amount.

Someone else pointed out that there are likely families in greater need of assistance than the children of wealthy individuals.

But several commenters reacted defensively to the negative slant of some of the posts.

One commenter praised the original post as a kind act, hoping it would encourage others to do the same. They noted the conversation in the comments had unfortunately shifted away from that positive sentiment.

By Thursday, the GoFundMe campaign for the Van Der Beek family had exceeded its $1.3 million goal, raising a total of $1.6 million.

The initial goal was only $1 million, but it was raised after fans of Van Der Beek rapidly surpassed that amount.

2026-02-13 06:19

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