Kevin Costner

Biography: Kevin Costner was born in Lynwood, California on January 18, 1955. His father, Bill, was a ditch digger and an electric line service crew member. He's actually the third child of Bill and Sharon, but because their second child died shortly after he was born, Kevin grew up with only one older brother, Dan. His father's job was the reason the entire family moved their home regularly. The frequent moves meant that Kevin was always the new kid at school. He reached a point where he didn't try to make friends anymore and his teachers described him as a daydreamer. When he was a teenager, he sang in the Baptist church choir, wrote poetry, and took writing classes in school. At the age of 18 he built his own canoe. When he was finished he paddled down the local river to the Pacific.

In 1973, he enrolled at California State University at Fullerton where he played basketball, football, and baseball. He successfully graduated in 1978 with a major in business. During his time there, Kevin decided to take acting lessons as well.

After graduating, he married Cindy Silva who was his collage love. To provide for his family, Kevin took a marketing job in Orange County.
On a business trip to Mexico, he met Richard Burton who advised him on their flight back home to focus solely on his acting career. Kevin decided to move to Hollywood where he had a myriad of jobs, none of which were acting. He worked as a trucker, a fisherman, and a tourist guide.

Kevin started his acting career with a soft porn film, but he found that type of work distasteful and decided not to continue appearing in films of that type. It would be another 6 years before he garnered his first role in a major motion picture. In 1983, Kevin was cast in The Big Chill. Although Kevin's scenes did not make the final cut, the director of this film, Lawrence Kasdan, remembered him when he made the film, Silverado, in 1985 and cast him in that film. Silverado was the catalyst that Kevin's career needed and was the beginning of a successful acting career.

Kevin and Cindy Silvia divorced in 1994. They have three children, Joe who was born in 1988, Annie who was born in 1984, and Lily who was born in 1987. He married Christine Baumgartner on September 25, 2004. They dated for five years and had been engaged since June 26, 2003.

Kevin will be appearing in The Guardian and The Tortilla Curtain in 2006. He is involved in film direction and production as well as acting.… Expand