Who is Kimberly Brook?
Kimberly Brook was born on 22 March 1982, in the United States of America, and is a business consultant as well as a producer, but perhaps better known to the public as the wife of actor James Van Der Beek. Her husband is best known for his role in the television series “Dawson’s Creek”, in which he played the titular character Dawson Leery. He’s also worked on other popular shows during his career.
The Riches of Kimberly Brook
As of mid-2020, Kimberly Brook’s net worth is estimated to be over $100,000, earned through success in her various career endeavors, though she doesn’t work as often now as she’s focused more on family life.
She probably benefits from the success of her husband, as Van Der Beek has a reputed net worth of over $8 million, earned through success in his work as an actor.
Life and Career
For most of her life, Kimberly has lived out of the spotlight, working as a business consultant. She always had an interest in film, and eventually began her foray in the production of “Teenage Paparazzo” in 2010. The documentary tells the story of a 14-year-old kid who works as a Paparazzi photographer, and showcases his success as he is often welcomed due to his appearance and age.
However, it later has a negative effect on his life, leading him to stop the endeavor.
It was during this period that she met and started a relationship with James Van Der Beek. Years later, she ventured to the creation of another documentary – “Heads Up: The Disappearing Art of Vaginal Breech Delivery”, which discusses the severe impact of a faulty study on the declining rate of breech deliveries, leading to more women in the US going through cesarean deliveries.
Husband – James Van Der Beek
James grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut where his father worked as an executive for a cellphone company, after retiring from a career in professional baseball.
His mother, on the other hand, was a gymnastics teacher, becoming so after years in a career as a dancer. During his teenage years, he developed an interest in acting and asked his mother to bring him to auditions. This led them to travel to New York where he got his first opportunity in an off-Broadway play, “Finding the Sun”.
He was 16 years old on his debut, but then returned home to continue his high school education. While attending Cheshire Academy, he became a part of the theatrical group in his locality, working on several musicals such as “Shenandoah”.
In 1996, he made his feature film debut in the independent film “I Love You, I Love You Not”, a romantic film starring Jude Law and Claire Danes which follows the relationship between a woman and her granddaughter who starts to fall in love. He then continued this education at Drew University where he enrolled on a scholarship, but eventually dropped out to pursue acting full-time.
Rise to Fame – Dawson’s Creek
Following work on several theatre projects and a few independent films, Van Der Beek ventured to television in 1997, auditioning for several pilots.
This led him to star on the show “Dawson’s Creek” as he won the role after his audition. The following year, its debut was highly successful, leading to one of the most popular shows at the time, elevating the careers of many of its cast members. He became known internationally as Dawson, and it led to more opportunities including film roles.
The show us a teen drama series, telling the story of a group of friends living in a fictional town in Capeside, Massachusetts. He is joined by Katie Holmes playing his love interest, and best friend, Joey Potter, Joshua Jackson playing his friend Pacey Witter, and Michelle Williams playing the New Yorker Jen Lindley, who moves to their area and befriends the group.
A few years into the show, Van Der Beek was cast in the film “Varsity Blues” which reached the top at the box office and stayed there for two weeks. He was also featured as one of the most beautiful people in the world by “People” magazine.
Life After Dawson’s Creek
Following the end of “Dawson’s Creek”, James took on film roles, including in “Scary Movie”, “Texas Rangers” and “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back”. He also worked on the film “American Psycho” playing the younger brother of the protagonist Patrick Bateman played by Christian Bale. Afterwards, he was in a film adaptation “The Rules of Attraction” based on the novel of the same name written by Bret Easton Ellis.
The film has gained a cult following despite being initially unsuccessful.
Following several failed projects, he returned to theatre where he mainly performed in off-Broadway productions. He occasionally appeared on television in guest roles as seen in “How I Met Your Brother”, in which he portrays one of the early boyfriends of Robin Scherbatsky, played by Cobie Smulders. In 2008, he joined the cast of “One Tree Hill” playing a character that was the opposite of Dawson Leery. He also did television movie projects and got consistent work, but wasn’t able to replicate his fame during his time as a teen star.
A few of his latest projects include “CSI: Cyber” in which he was a main cast member up to its cancellation. He also competed during the 28th season of “Dancing with the Stars” partnered with Emma Slater, with the duo reaching the semi-finals before being eliminated.
Personal Life
Kimberly met James in 2010 after he had just settled the divorce of his seven-year marriage to actress Heather McComb. The two began a relationship and married later in the year, in Tel Aviv, Israel at the Kabbalah Center. They have five children together and in 2018, they announced that they were expecting a sixth. However, she suffered a miscarriage late in the pregnancy.