Famed actor Kevin Costner grew up in a conservative, hard-working Baptist family in Southern California. He studied business at Cal State Fullerton and after graduating got a job in marketing.
But he quit after a month to pursue his dream of becoming a Hollywood star.
With a career spanning more than thirty years in show business, Costner has starred in more than 40 films, including Field of Dreams, The Untouchables, Bull Durham and Dances With Wolves.
He has won prestigious awards, including Oscars for directing and best picture. Other projects include the miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys” and the “Superman” reboot “Man of Steel”.
Costner was first married to actress Cindy Silva, now 65. The former couple met in 1975 and the Hollywood star thought he had no chance with her. But it turned out to be quite the opposite.
Cindy fell in love with him when she met him at a college party. Craig Cessna, a friend of The Bodyguard star, once said of their connection:
“Once they met, they only had eyes for each other”.
Costner himself confirmed his attraction to Silva at the time, explaining what made him fall in love with her: “She was beautiful. She was sweet. She was smarter than me… She represented everything I like about women.”
On their first date, he took Silva to see Funny Girl and then went home to introduce her to his parents. Talking about the night, Kevin said:
“I was proud that this girl was going out with me. I wanted my parents to meet her”.
Two and a half years later, the couple walked down the aisle. Recalling the day, John McInnes said Silva looked stunning as a bride and Costner was “so smitten with her”.
The newlyweds headed to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for their $150 honeymoon. The couple struggled financially in their early married life. Silva worked in marketing for Delta Airlines, while Costner was a stage manager.
Still, she always hoped they would rise above their circumstances. But when they finally did, things turned out badly for her.
As her husband’s career reached new heights in the late 1980s, Silva stayed at home with their children. Meanwhile, Costner was busy co-starring with Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham.
When he went to England for for months in 1990 to film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, she stayed at home with the children, who were already at school.
British tabloid later published stories about an alleged affair between her husband and Share Stewart, then a receptionist at a London nightclub.
Kevin dismissed the allegations, but his image as a family man was instantly tarnished. Away from the camera, the star was known as a womanizer and once confessed to having a weakness for women.
Some of the women he had been involved with over the years interpreted his behaviour as innocent flirtation and found it flattering.
But his growing fame and relationships with other women had a negative effect on his marriage to Silva, and rumours of a divorce began to circulate.
Those close to the couple revealed that it had been a topic of discussion for several months and it was clear that their union was crumbling.
The rift between the couple became an official separation when they publicly announced in 1994 that they were divorcing after nearly twenty years of marriage:
“We are ending our marriage. We have amicably resolved all issues relating to our children and financial matters, and a full marital settlement has been reached,” the actor confessed.
Silva walked away with $80 million from the divorce settlement, and she and the Oscar winner shared custody of their now-adult children.
While they were a couple, Costner and Silva welcomed three children, Annie, Lily and Joe.
Annie was born in April 1984. Following in her father’s footsteps, she works in Hollywood as a director, producer and actress.
Lily was born in August 1986. Like her father and sister, she is a show business star and has appeared in films such as ‘The Postman’ and ‘Black or White’.
The ex-couple’s youngest son is Joe, who was born in January 1988. Like the rest of the family, he is an actor and appeared alongside his older sister Lily in the 1997 film The Postman. He also has credits in the sound department of the short film ‘Oasis’.
Costner also has an illegitimate son named Liam, who was born in November 1996 from a brief post-divorce relationship with Bridget Rooney.
The two-time Golden Globe winner later remarried to former model Christine Baumgartner in September 2004. After the wedding, he admitted that his older children had a hard time accepting his new union.
He revealed that his daughters were more attached to him and wanted to do everything for him, telling Baumgartner what he liked and disliked.
Costner was still married to Silva when he met Christine, but it wasn’t until 1999 that they became romantically involved.
The couple split because they could not agree on whether or not to have children. Baumgartner wanted to be a mother, but Costner was content and happy with their four children.
However, the split was short-lived. Furthermore, Kevin revealed to Closer Weekly in June 2018 that fear prevented him from marrying the now 47-year-old:
“I wanted a child, but I was afraid I couldn’t be an effective father.”
Baumgartner gave him an ultimatum, saying:
“I’ll wait for you, but not for long. When you come to your senses, come back to me.
The Yellowstone star eventually realised he was losing his future wife because of his fear. He once admitted:
“It took me a long time to tell her, ‘I love you.'”
After 18 years of marriage, Costner revealed in 2020 that his marriage is better than ever and has grown stronger during the pandemic:
“Our partnership is focused on what we do for each other and how we treat our family.”
Kevin’s family became bigger after he and Baumgartner had three children: Cayden, Hayes and daughter Grace.
Cayden was born in May 2007, while his little brother Hayes arrived in February 2009. The children have accompanied their father on several red carpet appearances. Baumgartner and Costner welcomed their youngest daughter, Grace, in June 2010.
Kevin is a hands-on father to his youngest children.
As a father of young children, he prefers to spoil them and tempt them with sweets when he feels he can’t get their attention.
Talking about death, Kevin said that he wants to live forever, “and I know I won’t. I’m not afraid of dying. The only thing I’m afraid of is not being able to raise my children. When I pray, that’s what I pray for. To be there for Grace, Hayes and Cayden.
