Kevin Costner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kevin Costner
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Costner in 2024
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Kevin Michael Costner
January 18, 1955 Lynwood, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | California State University, Fullerton (BA) |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Cindy Silva
(m. 1978; div. 1994)Christine Baumgartner
(m. 2004; div. 2024) |
| Children | 7 |
| Awards | Full list |
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Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is a famous American actor and filmmaker. He has won many important awards. These include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Costner became well-known for starring in popular movies. Some of these are The Untouchables (1987), Bull Durham (1988), and Field of Dreams (1989). He also appeared in JFK (1991), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), and The Bodyguard (1992).
He directed and starred in the Western movie Dances With Wolves (1990). For this film, he won two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. He also starred in and helped produce Wyatt Earp (1994) and Waterworld (1995). Costner also directed The Postman (1997), Open Range (2003), and Horizon: An American Saga (2024).
Other notable films include Silverado (1985), Tin Cup (1996), and Hidden Figures (2016). On television, he played Devil Anse Hatfield in the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys (2012). He won an Emmy Award for this role. From 2018 to 2023, he starred as John Dutton in the TV series Yellowstone. He won a Golden Globe award for his work on Yellowstone.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Costner was born on January 18, 1955, in Lynwood, California. He grew up in Compton, California. His parents were William and Sharon Costner. He was the youngest of three boys. His father worked as an electrician and a utilities executive. His mother was a welfare worker.
Costner has a mix of German, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Cherokee family history. He was raised as a Baptist. In school, he enjoyed sports, especially football. He also took piano lessons, wrote poetry, and sang in the church choir. He has said that watching the 1962 film How the West Was Won made him love Western movies.
Costner moved around California a lot as a teenager because of his father's job. He said this made him "lose a lot of confidence" because he had to make new friends often. He lived in Ventura and Visalia. He went to Mt. Whitney High School and was in the marching band. Costner graduated from Villa Park High School in 1973. He played baseball there.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) in 1978. While at CSUF, he joined the Delta Chi fraternity.
Discovering Acting
In his last year of college, Costner became interested in acting and dancing. In 1978, he met famous actor Richard Burton on an airplane. Costner was unsure if he should become an actor. He asked Burton for advice. Costner said Burton encouraged him to follow his dream. Burton also told him it was possible to be an actor and have a good private life. Costner credits Burton with inspiring him to become an actor.
Costner had agreed to work as a marketing executive. But he started taking acting lessons five nights a week. His wife supported him. His marketing job only lasted 30 days. He took other jobs to pay for his acting lessons. These jobs included working on fishing boats, driving trucks, and giving tours of movie stars' homes. This work helped him and his wife while he went to auditions.
Film Career Highlights
Early Roles and Breakthrough
Costner's first film was Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. (1981). He had a small role in the film Night Shift (1982). In 1983, he starred in Stacy's Knights. He also appeared in a commercial for the Apple Lisa computer. He had a small part in the film Testament.
He was cast in The Big Chill (1983). He filmed scenes for flashbacks, but they were cut from the final movie. Costner was friends with director Lawrence Kasdan. Kasdan promised him a role in a future project. This led to his breakout role in Silverado (1985). That year, he also starred in Fandango and American Flyers. He appeared in an episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories.
Becoming a Movie Star
Costner became a big movie star in 1987. He played federal agent Eliot Ness in The Untouchables. He also had the main role in the thriller No Way Out. He became even more famous with baseball movies like Bull Durham (1988) and Field of Dreams (1989).
In 1990, he started his own production company, Tig Productions. Their first film was the epic Dances With Wolves. Costner directed and starred in it. The movie was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven. Costner personally won two: Best Picture and Best Director.
He played Robin Hood in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). He also helped produce this film. The movie was a huge success at the box office. Costner then starred as District Attorney Jim Garrison in JFK (1991). This film was praised for its style and acting. Costner was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role.
He starred with Whitney Houston in the romantic drama The Bodyguard (1992). He also produced this film. It was a huge hit. The next year, he played a criminal on the run in Clint Eastwood's drama A Perfect World (1993). He then played Wyatt Earp in the Western movie Wyatt Earp (1994). He also produced this film.
Later Career and TV Success
The science fiction movies Waterworld (1995) and The Postman (1997) were not as successful. Costner also directed The Postman. He starred in the golf comedy Tin Cup (1996). In 1999, he starred in Message in a Bottle.
His career improved in 2000 with Thirteen Days. He played Kenneth O'Donnell, an adviser to John F. Kennedy. The Western film Open Range, which he directed and starred in, was praised by critics and was a commercial success. He received good reviews for his role in The Upside of Anger (2005). After that, Costner starred in The Guardian and Mr. Brooks.
In 2008, Costner starred in Swing Vote. He also appeared in The Company Men (2010). In 2011, he announced he would direct A Little War of Our Own, but there have been no updates on this film. He played Jonathan Kent in the Superman film Man of Steel (2013).
In 2012, Costner played Devil Anse Hatfield in the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys. It was very popular, with 13.9 million viewers. This role earned him an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
In 2014, Costner appeared in the spy film Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. He also starred in 3 Days to Kill and Draft Day. He produced and starred in Black or White. In 2015, Costner played coach Jim White in McFarland, USA, a drama about cross-country running. In 2016, he played Al Harrison in Hidden Figures. In 2017, he starred with Jessica Chastain in Molly's Game.
Since 2018, he has starred in and produced the TV series Yellowstone. This was his first regular role in a TV series. In 2019, Costner voiced Enzo the dog in The Art of Racing in the Rain. This was his first voice-over role.
In 2022, Costner began making Horizon: An American Saga. This is a Western epic planned as at least four films. Costner is starring in and directing the project. The first film, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, was released in June 2024. The second film, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2, was released in August 2024.
Other Interests
Country Music
Costner is the singer in a country rock band called Kevin Costner & Modern West. He started the band with his wife's encouragement. In October 2007, they began a worldwide tour.
The band released a country album called Untold Truths in November 2008. It reached No. 61 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. They released a second album, Turn It On, in February 2010. In July 2012, the band performed in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Their most recent album, Tales from Yellowstone, was written by Costner and his co-writers. The songs are from the point of view of John Dutton, Costner's character on the TV series Yellowstone. Songs from this album were used in Season 3 of the show.
Baseball Connection
Several of Costner's movies are about baseball. These include Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and For Love of the Game. In three of these films, his character is a professional baseball player.
Costner lives in Austin, Texas. He sometimes visits Texas Longhorns baseball practices and games. He was good friends with former Longhorns baseball coach Augie Garrido. Costner cast Garrido as the Yankee manager in For Love of the Game. He tries to attend every College World Series game that the CSUF Titans team plays.
Costner was a part-owner of the Lake County Fielders independent baseball team. The team's name was a tribute to Field of Dreams. In August 2021, he led the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox onto the field before the MLB at Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa. He gave a short speech there.
Business Ventures
In 1995, Costner bought a company that made machines to separate oil from water. These machines became important during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. BP used 32 of these devices from Costner's company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, to help clean up the oil.
On June 6, 2004, Costner opened Tatanka: The Story of the Bison. This attraction is near Deadwood, South Dakota. He hoped it would be a place for people to learn about America's westward expansion. The attraction has an interactive center with exhibits. Its main feature is a large bronze sculpture. It shows 14 bronze bison running from three Lakota riders on horseback.
Costner also opened the Midnight Star Casino and Restaurant in Deadwood, S.D., in 1991. He closed it in 2017 and sold it in 2020. In 2020, Costner became a co-founder and narrator for HearHere. This is an audio travel app for road trips. It tells stories about the places travelers are passing through.
Helping Others
Costner is on an honorary board for the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2011, he recorded radio ads for the museum.
NASCAR Involvement
Costner was the ceremonial Grand Marshal for the NASCAR Cup Series' Auto Club 500 race in 2007. In 2008, he helped produce and narrated the NASCAR Documentary The Ride of Their Lives. In 2009, he was named the spokesman for NASCAR Day. He also performed with his band at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Writing
In 2015, Costner co-authored The Explorer's Guild: A Passage to Shambhala. This book is a mix of an adventure novel and a graphic novel. Costner also has a chapter with advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.
Personal Life
Family Life
In 1975, while in college, Costner began dating Cindy Silva. They married three years later. They had two daughters and a son. They divorced in 1994 after 16 years of marriage.
After his divorce, he had a son with Bridget Rooney in 1996. On September 25, 2004, Costner married Christine Baumgartner. They had two sons and a daughter. In May 2023, Baumgartner filed for divorce. Their divorce was finalized on February 20, 2024.
Political Views
Early in his life, Costner was a Republican. He supported and was friends with Ronald Reagan. He changed his political party in the early 1990s. Since 1992, Costner has supported many Democratic politicians.
In 2008, he said he did not want to run for political office. In the days before the 2008 United States presidential election, Costner campaigned for Barack Obama. He encouraged young voters to participate. In October 2014, Costner sent a message to British troops, thanking them for their service.
In December 2019, Costner supported Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. Later, Costner supported Joe Biden. For the 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming, Costner supported Republican Liz Cheney.
Awards and Achievements
Kevin Costner has received many awards throughout his career. He won two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director for Dances With Wolves (1990). He has won three Golden Globe Awards for Dances with Wolves, Hatfields & McCoys (2012), and Yellowstone (2023). He also received a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Images for kids
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Kevin Costner's signature
See also
In Spanish: Kevin Costner para niños
