Emilia, James Van Der Beek's daughter, shares how to fight grief after losing a loved one

Emilia, the 10-year-old daughter of the late Hollywood actor, James Van Der Beek, shared a heartfelt tribute to her dad in a video released on his birthday.

James Van Der Beek, the star of 1990s teen drama "Dawson's Creek," died last month at the age of 48 after a battle with cancer.

In 2024, Van Der Beek announced a colorectal cancer diagnosis after it was discovered during a routine colonoscopy the year before.

In a video shared to Instagram on Sunday on Van Deer Beek's wife, Kimberly's Instagram, Emilia, said she wanted to share "tips" for others to get "through anybody you love passing."

"So today is my dad's birthday, and the number one thing for somebody's passing is to talk to them and let your emotions out," Emilia said in the social media video. "If you miss them, you can cry. You can talk to them. I talk to my dad every day. I start with a sentence, and I say, 'Hi, Dad. I miss you and I love you so much, and I'll never stop loving you.' "

"I just tell him about my day, how I'm feeling, and I told my family how I'm feeling. And I know he can hear me, but I can't hear him," she continued. 

She said "You have to feel them in your heart, because they're in your heart. They're watching over you. They're a part of your body and in a good place. I know that my dad's in a good place. He's not in pain anymore. He's in heaven above the clouds with God and the Lord."

"Don't blame yourself," she added. "Blaming yourself, it's not a good strategy for someone's passing…Everybody has different emotions in their body, and they express it in different ways."