Kevin Costner’s Life in Photos from Young Heartthrob to Oscar Winner and Dad of 7 ArticlePure

Kevin Costner’s Childhood

Kevin Michael Costner was born on Jan. 15, 1955, in Lynwood, California, as the youngest of three boys. He grew up nearby in Compton, California, with his parents, welfare worker Shannon and electrician William Costner. In 1978, he graduated California State University, Fullerton with a degree in business. 

He became interested in acting near the end of his college career, and an encounter with screen star Richard Burton on the plane encouraged him to pursue it full-time. Speaking to film critic Roger Ebert in 2012, Costner recounted how he approached Burton to ask a few questions.

“I told him, ‘I was hoping to become an actor, and, well, you’re a celebrated actor, but you’re a brawler, you’ve had a lot of marriages, a lot of things … I just want to know, does that kind of life follow an actor? I want to have a life that’s not filled with drama.’ “ he recalled.

Costner continued, “And Burton looked at me and he said, ‘You have green eyes. I have green eyes.’ And he goes, ‘I think you’ll be fine.’ “

Kevin Costner’s First Movie

His film debut came in 1981 with indie movie Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. — also known as Malibu Hot Summer — as young stable owner John Logan. For his 69th birthday, Costner shared a throwback photo from set with the caption, “Celebrating another year of life today and taking a moment to honor this kid who had big dreams. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come.”

Kevin Costner’s Breakthrough

His breakout role came in 1985 with the Western movie Silverado opposite Kevin Kline and Danny Glover. But he became a bona fide movie star following his portrayal of federal agent Eliot Ness in 1987’s The Untouchables and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Tom Farrell in No Way Out. He also starred in two successful baseball-themed movies, 1988’s Bull Durham and 1989’s Field of Dreams.

Even as his star rose, Costner maintained a complicated relationship with fame, telling Time in 1989, “I didn’t set out to be a star. If you do, you engage in manipulation. You do stuff to be liked. I didn’t want to be endorsed; I wanted to be listened to. I had ideas about things.”

Kevin Costner’s Marriage to Cindy Silva

Costner began dating Cindy Silva in 1975, while the pair were in college, and they wed three years later. The two had three children together, Annie, born in 1984, Lily, born in 1986, and Joe, born in 1988.

In 1989, the movie star told PEOPLE of his first date with Silva, saying, “She was beautiful. She was sweet. She was smarter than me … she represented everything about women that I like.”

The couple split after 16 years of marriage in 1994, and the resulting divorce reportedly ended in an $80 million settlement for Silva. Friends and sources told PEOPLE at the time that although Silva was excited for Costner’s Hollywood ascendance, their relationship became more difficult due to his increasingly demanding schedule.

A longtime friend said, “I think their relationship as individuals will be okay. They have a common love, their kids, who are the most important thing to both of them. I don’t think they’ll have one of those cutthroat relationships. It’s just sad, because they were the perfect couple.”

Reflecting on the divorce in 2012, Costner told The Hollywood Reporter his “faith was shaken” and “no one wants their marriage to end.”

Kevin Costner Wins 2 Oscars

In 1991, Costner took home two Academy Awards for Dances with Wolves, winning Best Picture and Best Director. In his Best Picture speech with co-producer Jim Wilson, he began, “It’s very easy for people to trivialize what we do sometimes, and they do it in ways of saying, ‘Well, if it’s such a big deal, how come nobody remembers who last year won the Oscar?’ “

“I will never forget what happened here tonight. My family will never forget what happened here,” he said. “My Native American brothers and sisters across the country, especially the Lakota Sioux, will never forget. The people I went to school with will never forget.”

Kevin Costner & Modern West

The actor made a foray into music in 2007, founding and fronting the country rock band Kevin Costner & Modern West. The band has four studio albums, as well as a 16-song collection inspired by Costner’s role on Yellowstone.

“I’m a storyteller,” Costner told News10 ABC. “I’ll do a four-minute song or I’ll do a three-hour movie, or a miniseries. I like telling stories, and music is probably the richest way to actually communicate with people, for me, because it’s so personal.”

Kevin Costner’s Marriage to Christine Baumgartner

Costner married handbag designer Christine Baumgartner in 2004 at the actor’s 160-acre ranch in Aspen, Colorado, The Dunbar. The couple shares three children: Cayden Wyatt, born in 2007, Hayes Logan, born in 2009, and Grace Avery, born in 2010. 

After 18 years of marriage, Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner on May 1, 2023. A representative for Costner told PEOPLE, “It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action.”

The next day, Costner filed a response requesting joint custody of their three children. They eventually finalized their divorce in February 2024, with a rep for Costner saying in a joint statement that the two “have come to an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution.”

“That’s a crushing moment. It’s powerful. It hurt,” he said of the divorce on CBS Mornings in 2024. “But I go forward. I have no choice — my children are looking at me. So I can’t wilt like a daisy.”

Kevin Costner Wins an Emmy

For his performance as Devil Anse Hatfield in the 2012 Western miniseries Hatfields & McCoys, Costner won outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie at the Emmys.

He began his acceptance speech by saying the series almost “didn’t happen” and they “had to go to Romania to film this very American story.” Thanking his producers, family, cast and crew, Costner then expressed gratitude to those who tuned into the show.

“And for those of you who haven’t seen it, thank god for TV and reruns,” he joked.

Costner concluded, “I’ve loved being an actor. I’ve loved this life. It’s changed my life. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have it.”

‘Yellowstone’

He led the hit Paramount Network drama Yellowstone as family patriarch John Dutton from 2018 to 2024, winning his third Golden Globe in 2023 for the performance. However, before the fifth season, rumors arose that Costner was leaving the show to focus on filming his multi-part Western film series Horizon: An American Saga. 

When creator Taylor Sheridan and Costner could not reach an agreement, Paramount announced the series would end after season 5, which was split into two parts. Costner did not return for part 2.

“The scripts weren’t there,” he explained to PEOPLE in June 2024. “There was a moment where that show for me stopped for 14 months. … That’s the fact. I could have done a lot of things in that time, but I wasn’t aware that that [hold-up] was going to happen.”

Kevin Costner as a Dad of 7

Costner is the father of seven children — three with Silva, three with Baumgartner and one with his ex-girlfriend Bridget Rooney. Although it’s rare to see all seven together, five of his children supported their dad at the premiere of his Western epic Horizon in June 2024. Later that year, six joined him for a beach day on Thanksgiving, and the actor shared a sweet photo of the group on Instagram.

“At the top of my ‘grateful for’ list are the many really, really special memories I’ve gotten to make with my kids this year,” he captioned the post.

In November 2022, he told PEOPLE that being a father is one of his greatest joys.

“You’ve got to get down on the ground and play with them,” the Molly’s Game actor said. “you teach them to be independent — and the sad part about that is they become that. I’m like any other parent: I’m trying to figure it out.”