On July 18, 1955, Kevin Michael Costner was born in Lynwood, California, to Bill and Sharon Costner. His father’s job led them to move frequently and Costner attended several schools in his young life. By high school he was a star athlete playing basketball, football, and baseball. In college he studied business but took acting lessons at night. After college graduation he married his college sweetheart, Cindy Silva.

Costner and Cindy Silva were married for sixteen years and had three children, Annie, Lily, and Joe. The couple divorced in 1994. Costner also has another son, Liam, with Bridget Rooney, a woman he had a short romance with after his divorce. In September of 2004, Costner remarried to his girlfriend of four years, Christine Baumgartner.

Shortly after his marriage to Cindy, Costner accidentally met Richard Burton on an airplane flight and Burton gave him advice that would change his life. He told him that if he wanted to act, he needed to pursue it completely, and that is what Costner ended up doing. He quit his job and moved to Hollywood taking whatever work he could, including one soft core sex film.

In 1983 he was cast in the movie The Big Chill. The film centers around college friends who reunite after one of their group commits suicide. Kevin Costner played the role of the dead friend who was to be seen in flashbacks. All of his scenes were cut. The director of the film remembered Costner though, and cast him in 1985’s Silverado with Rosanna Arquette, Kevin Kline, and Danny Glover. Costner got noticed and his career went into full swing. Two years later when he landed the role in The Untouchables he became a box office star.

The roles poured in, including Bull Durham in 1998, Field of Dreams in 1999, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves in 1991, JFK also in 1991, and The Bodyguard in 1993, with Whitney Houston. During this time Costner filmed what would become his biggest success, Dancing with Wolves in 1990. He produced, directed, and stared in the film which won two Oscars for best picture and best director.

It seemed Kevin Costner could do no wrong. That is, until he stared in two big budget flops, Waterworld in 1995 and The Postman in 1997. Critics and fans alike seemed to turn against Costner and every role he did after was scrutinized. His roles in movies such as Message in a Bottle in 1999, with Robin Wright Penn; 3000 Miles to Graceland in 2001, with Kurt Russell and Courteney Cox; and Dragonfly in 2002 met with mixed reviews and left everyone wondering where the man who had made Dancing with Wolves had gone.

Recently, Costner has begun to garner critical praise once again. His role in 2005’s The Upside of Anger was a huge success, and the same year he co-starred opposite Jennifer Aniston in the hit Rumor Has It…

YUDDY