And here’s the part that’s melting hearts across the internet: every year since James’s real mother passed away, Mary-Margaret bakes and mails him birthday cookies.
That’s right. In an emotional Instagram post, Van Der Beek, now 47 and a father of six, revealed the sweet tradition still continues.
“Every year since my mother passed, my TV mom has baked me cookies on my birthday,” he wrote. “It doesn’t matter that I’m now older than she was when we first worked together… she bakes them, finds me, and does it from the bottom of her heart — and it always warms mine.”
Born in Watertown, New York, Humes first captured the nation’s attention in the mid-’70s. After her pageant days, she jumped into acting with a role in Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part I and soon became a familiar face on classic shows like Knight Rider, The A-Team, The Love Boat, and T.J. Hooker.
In the ‘90s, she played a quirky suburban mom in Eerie, Indiana, tackled courtroom drama in Matlock, and joined the cast of Dawson’s Creek in 1998—securing her legacy as one of the most beloved TV moms of the decade.
After the series ended in 2003, she continued to light up the screen with appearances on Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, Criminal Minds, and more recently, starred in multiple Hallmark favorites.
Now, nearly two decades after the Creek dried up, Mary-Margaret Humes is still turning heads—and still showing the same maternal warmth that made her a fan favorite.
And yes, she still bakes the cookies.
