James Van Der Beek's nine-year-old daughter has opened up about her grief.

Emilia reflected on losing her dad, who lost his three-year battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer aged 48 in February, and offered "little tips" for navigating heartbreak in an emotional video shared to Instagram on Sunday (08.03.26) - what would have been James' 49th birthday.

She said: "As you will probably know, my dad has passed away. But I'm just going to tell you some little tips or anything that helps you 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 revealed she talks to the Dawson's Creek star "every day" and knows he is now "in a good place", and "not in pain anymore".

She said: "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.'

"And 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. My mom can.

"And 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."

The youngster encouraged people to express their emotions.

Emilia said: "And just cry. Cry, cry, cry. Be happy they're in a good place, be sad because you miss them. You can be angry, but don't blame yourself. Blaming yourself is not a good strategy for someone's passing.

"And if somebody also lost their dog or somebody they love, and you did too, and they try to tell you, 'I know how you feel, I felt worse.' They don't know how you feel.

"Everybody has different emotions in their body, and they express it in different ways. Many, many different ways. And don't let anybody tell you that. Be like, 'No, you don't know how I feel.'"

Before James died, he told Emilia to keep "believing in miracles" if the worst happened to him.

She continued: "And this is hard. It's gonna be hard. And even if you hear that they're passing, it's OK. If they do, it's a miracle. Still, everything's meant to happen for a reason.

"Something my dad told me was if this doesn't work out the way he wanted it to and the way we wanted it to for him living, I still have to believe in miracles.

"Miracles can still happen, just later on in life, and they'll keep coming. But maybe when you want them to come, they might not. But, if they do pass, if they do go, just remember they have some work to do on the other side."

Emilia "stole" James' hat close because it "smells like him, and I love it so much".

Towards the end of the heartfelt video, she discussed just how much the late actor was loved.

Emilia said: "And I praise my dad. I know that he was a good man. A lot of people loved him, and people prayed for him, and he was loved by many, many hearts and many, many people."

And Emilia concluded her video by thanking those who donated to her 44-year-old mom, Kimberly Van Der Beek's GoFundMe crowdfunder - which has raised more than $2 million for covering "essential living expenses, bills and support for the children's education".

Emilia - who has siblings Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Gwendolyn, seven, and four-year-old Jeremiah - said: "Also, if you donated to the Kimberly Van Der Beek fundraiser, thank you so much. I checked it, holy moly. Thank you so much. I am blown away."

Also marking James' birthday on Sunday, Kimberly took to her Instagram Stories and posted a series of photos and videos of their family over the years.

The film producer penned over a shot of her and James: "Would be your 49th birthday today. And I'm missing you tremendously."