The Cast ofDawson's Creek: Where Are They Now?

Mar. 15, 2025

From left: Katie Holmes, James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998.Photo: Frank Ockenfels/Warner Bros/REX/Shutterstock

Set in thefictional small town of Capeside, Mass., the popular WB teen dramaDawson’s Creekfocused on acore group of friendswhose love lives, hopes and dreams intertwined as they figured out their way through high school and college. The show managed to cover weighty issues like mental health, death and homophobia among typical teenage fare like prom dates, new friends and first love.James Van Der Beekled the ensemble cast as Dawson Leery, a wannabe filmmaker who has his heart set on his own happily ever after with one of his best friends, Joey Potter (Katie Holmes). Dawson’s other best friend, Pacey Whitter (Joshua Jackson), and Capeside newbie Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams) put a crinkle in Dawson’s carefully plotted-out future.With Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait” as the theme song probably still stuck in your head,Dawson’s Creekhelped launch its young stars into the spotlight. Here’s what the cast is up to now.

Set in thefictional small town of Capeside, Mass., the popular WB teen dramaDawson’s Creekfocused on acore group of friendswhose love lives, hopes and dreams intertwined as they figured out their way through high school and college. The show managed to cover weighty issues like mental health, death and homophobia among typical teenage fare like prom dates, new friends and first love.

James Van Der Beekled the ensemble cast as Dawson Leery, a wannabe filmmaker who has his heart set on his own happily ever after with one of his best friends, Joey Potter (Katie Holmes). Dawson’s other best friend, Pacey Whitter (Joshua Jackson), and Capeside newbie Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams) put a crinkle in Dawson’s carefully plotted-out future.

With Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait” as the theme song probably still stuck in your head,Dawson’s Creekhelped launch its young stars into the spotlight. Here’s what the cast is up to now.

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James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery

James Van Der Beek on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998 and now.Warner Bros Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock, Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

ThePoseactor lives in Texas with wife Kimberly and theirsix young kids: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah. In November of 2024, he announced he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer,though told PEOPLE, “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good."

When it comes to nostalgia forDawson’s, Van Der Beek isn’t too keen on revisiting the series.

“It’s something I did so long ago,” he previously said. “It’s something I feel a real distance from, to be honest.”

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Katie Holmes as Joey Potter

Katie Holmes on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998 and now.Frank Ockenfels/Warner Bros/REX/Shutterstock; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for AHA

Fittingly for the woman who portrayed Capeside High valedictorian Joey Potter, Katie Holmes went back to school for a time, even attending the Entertainment, Media and Sports program at Harvard University to further skills for her production company, Noelle Productions Inc.

Holmes has harbored fondDawson’smemories, previously saying it was a “special show, and I loved every minute of it.”

03of 11Joshua Jackson as Pacey WitterJoshua Jackson on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998 and now.Getty Images; Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for ShowtimeJoshua Jackson, theFatal AttractionandDoctor Odysseystar, previously expressed that aDawson’sreboot would be “shocking” to fans.“We are not cute kids anymore,” he joked onThe Ellen DeGeneres Showin 2016,perEW. “It’s been a long time. I mean, we’re holding up okay, but I think if you put the four of us now next to the four of us them, it might be a little shocking.“In early 2023, he returned to Wilmington, North Carolina — whereDawson’s Creekwas filmed — to shoot a new series fromAva DuVernay.Jackson, who played Pacey Witter in the series,wed Jodie Turner-Smithin 2019,though the pair split in 2023. Together they haveone child.

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Joshua Jackson as Pacey Witter

Joshua Jackson on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998 and now.Getty Images; Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for Showtime

Joshua Jackson, theFatal AttractionandDoctor Odysseystar, previously expressed that aDawson’sreboot would be “shocking” to fans.

“We are not cute kids anymore,” he joked onThe Ellen DeGeneres Showin 2016,perEW. “It’s been a long time. I mean, we’re holding up okay, but I think if you put the four of us now next to the four of us them, it might be a little shocking.”

In early 2023, he returned to Wilmington, North Carolina — whereDawson’s Creekwas filmed — to shoot a new series fromAva DuVernay.

Jackson, who played Pacey Witter in the series,wed Jodie Turner-Smithin 2019,though the pair split in 2023. Together they haveone child.

04of 11Michelle Williams as Jen LindleyMichelle Williams on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998 and now.Getty Images; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesOnce Capeside’s resident occasional bad girl, Michelle Williams has “made good” with a serious career on the big screen, earning several Oscar nominations, including a Best Actress nod in 2023 forSteven Spielberg’sThe Fabelmans.Williams is mom to daughterMatilda Rose, with late actorHeath Ledger,as well astwo childrenwith husband Thomas Kail.Hopes for aDawson’sreboot are also lost on the star, whose character Jen Lindley(SPOILER ALERT)didn’t make it to the series finale alive.“I would have to come back as a ghost — or put a lot of filters on the camera, and I’ll do flashback scenes,” she previously said.

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Michelle Williams as Jen Lindley

Michelle Williams on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998 and now.Getty Images; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Once Capeside’s resident occasional bad girl, Michelle Williams has “made good” with a serious career on the big screen, earning several Oscar nominations, including a Best Actress nod in 2023 forSteven Spielberg’sThe Fabelmans.

Williams is mom to daughterMatilda Rose, with late actorHeath Ledger,as well astwo childrenwith husband Thomas Kail.

Hopes for aDawson’sreboot are also lost on the star, whose character Jen Lindley(SPOILER ALERT)didn’t make it to the series finale alive.

“I would have to come back as a ghost — or put a lot of filters on the camera, and I’ll do flashback scenes,” she previously said.

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Meredith Monroe as Andie McPhee

During a cast reunion interview, shetoldEntertainment Weeklyin 2018 that shooting the series in Wilmington, North Carolina, “was like growing up together. I felt like I was so grateful that it was shooting in Wilmington. We all got to really connect in a way that I don’t think we would have had we been in New York or L.A.”

06of 11Kerr Smith as Jack McPheeKerr Smith on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 2000 and now.Getty Images; Tiffany Rose/WireImageAfter playing Jack McPhee, Andie’s older brother who comes to terms with his homosexuality throughout the series,Kerr Smithlanded roles onThe Fosters,LifeUnexpected,CharmedandRiverdale.Smith’s favorite memory fromDawson’scomes from the actors' group trips to the beach.“In the summer, we as a cast would go to Masonboro Island [North Carolina]. We’d get out the grill and go Jet Skiing and swimming. It was the most fun I ever had in my life,” he previously told PEOPLE.

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Kerr Smith as Jack McPhee

Kerr Smith on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 2000 and now.Getty Images; Tiffany Rose/WireImage

After playing Jack McPhee, Andie’s older brother who comes to terms with his homosexuality throughout the series,Kerr Smithlanded roles onThe Fosters,LifeUnexpected,CharmedandRiverdale.

Smith’s favorite memory fromDawson’scomes from the actors' group trips to the beach.

“In the summer, we as a cast would go to Masonboro Island [North Carolina]. We’d get out the grill and go Jet Skiing and swimming. It was the most fun I ever had in my life,” he previously told PEOPLE.

07of 11Busy Philipps as Audrey LiddellBusy Philipps on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 2000 and now.Allen Berezovsky/FilmMagicBusy Philipps, who played Joey Potter’s college roommate, has stayed booked and busy on series likeCougar TownandGirls5eva. She will also play Regina George’s mom in the 2024 musical remake ofMean Girls.TheCougar Townstar has two children,Cricket and Birdie, withestranged husband Marc Silverstein.Off-screen, she has remained close toDawson’sbestie, Williams; the pair havefrequented red carpets togetherand reunited for girls' days out.

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Busy Philipps as Audrey Liddell

Busy Philipps on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 2000 and now.Allen Berezovsky/FilmMagic

Busy Philipps, who played Joey Potter’s college roommate, has stayed booked and busy on series likeCougar TownandGirls5eva. She will also play Regina George’s mom in the 2024 musical remake ofMean Girls.

TheCougar Townstar has two children,Cricket and Birdie, withestranged husband Marc Silverstein.

Off-screen, she has remained close toDawson’sbestie, Williams; the pair havefrequented red carpets togetherand reunited for girls' days out.

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John Wesley Shipp as Mitch Leery

During the cast’s 2018 reunion,Shipp recalled how the series' dialogue was groundbreaking for the times: “I remember a big star who shall remain nameless said to Kevin [Williamson, the show’s creator], ‘Young people don’t talk like that,’ " ShipptoldEntertainment Weekly. “Kevin said, ‘Well, maybe not, but they’d like to.’ We had a feeling that we were pioneering a different way of telling stories about young people.”

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Mary-Margaret Humes as Gail Leery

She toldEWshe happened to be with star Van Der Beek the first time he was ever asked for an autograph afterDawson’s Creekpremiered.

“He signed it and said, ‘Oh my God, Mary-Margaret, that was my first!’ And, of course, my thought was, ‘Oh, honey, hang on,’ " she said.

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Nina Repeta as Bessie Potter

Nina Repeta on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998 and now.Source: Ninarepeta.com

Since playing big sis to Holmes' Joey, Nina Repeta has continued to act in various films and has sparked amusic career, singing everything from the blues to jazz. She is also involved in music therapy, singing jazz in local memory care units.

“I do feel like I have passed the acting torch to our son Banks,” Repeta told PEOPLE. “[At the Critics' Choice Awards], we got to hang out briefly with [Michelle] Williams and [Busy] Philipps at the ceremony. As long as he continues to enjoy it, I feel like he will continue his journey as a film actor.”

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Mary Beth Peil as Evelyn “Grams” Ryan

Mary Beth Peil on ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in 1998 and now.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Jen’s “Grams” has worked steadily in post-Dawson’syears: Mary Beth Peil had recurring roles onThe Good WifeandKaty Keeneand many turns on Broadway, including the Dowager Empress inAnastasia.

When Williams was honored at the 2022 Gotham Awards, she used her time tothank Peil for influencing herand taking her under her wing.

source: people.com