Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer and Academy Award-winning director. He is well-known for his role as Lt. John J. Dunbar in the film Dances with Wolves (1990), which won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Early life
Costner was born in Lynwood, California, the youngest of the three sons (the middle of whom died at birth) of Sharon Rae (née Tedrick), a welfare worker, and William Costner, an electrician and later utilities executive. He has German, Irish and Cherokee ancestry (his Oklahoma-born paternal grandfather was half Cherokee). Costner was raised Baptist. He attended elementary school at McKevette School, in Santa Paula, California, Cabrillo Jr. High School and Buena High in Ventura, California. A poor student, Costner enjoyed sports in spite of his slight stature and took piano lessons, wrote poetry and sang in the First Baptist Choir.
Spending his teenage years in various parts of California as his father's career progressed, Costner lived in Orange County, then in Visalia (Tulare County), attending Mt. Whitney High School, and graduated from Villa Park High School in Villa Park, California, in 1973. He went on to earn a B.A. in business from California State University, Fullerton, in 1978, where he was a member and President of the Delta Chi Fraternity and met bride-to-be Cindy Silva.
Post-graduation
Costner became interested in acting while in college, and on graduation married Cindy. The couple honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta and on the return plane journey had a chance encounter with actor and fellow passenger Richard Burton, who had purchased all the seats around him for solitude. Burton agreed to speak to Costner after he finished his book. Costner, who had been taking acting classes, but had not told his wife about his desire to be an actor, watched Burton closely and approached when Burton gestured him to. Costner told Burton that he would prefer that his life was not filled with the type of drama that had followed Burton and asked if he would have to tolerate that if he became an actor. Burton replied, "You have green eyes. I have green eyes. I think you'll be fine." After landing, Burton's limousine pulled up to the curb where Costner and Cindy were waiting for a taxi, where Burton wished Costner luck. Costner would never see Burton again, but credits Burton with partially contributing to his career.
Having agreed to undertake a job as a marketing executive on return, Costner began taking acting lessons five nights a week, with the support of his wife. His marketing job lasted 30 days. He took work which allowed him to develop his acting skills via tuition, including working on fishing boats, as a truck driver, and giving tours of stars' Hollywood homes to support the couple while he also made the audition rounds.
While in college, Costner was a member of Delta Chi fraternity.[1] He started dating fellow student Cindy Silva in March 1975, and their subsequent marriage produced three children: Annie (born in 1984), Lily (born in 1986), and Joe (born in 198 cool . Kevin and Cindy divorced in 1994 after 16 years of marriage. He also has a son, Liam (born in 1996), with Bridget Rooney, with whom he had a brief relationship following his divorce.[9]
On September 25, 2004, after 10 years of being single, Costner married his girlfriend of four years, the German model and handbag designer Christine Baumgartner,[10][11] at his ranch in Aspen, Colorado. Guests, including Oprah Winfrey, Oliver Stone, and Bruce Willis, were treated to activities including horseback riding and baseball during the weekend festivities. Costner took his new bride for a canoe ride on a lake following the ceremony. The couple honeymooned in Scotland.[12] Their first child, Cayden Wyatt Costner, was born on May 6, 2007 at 10:30 p.m. at a Los Angeles hospital. He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz.[13]
Costner is registered as a Republican he still prefers to be known as a "conservative."[citation needed]
Several of Costner's films have included a baseball theme. They include Chasing Dreams, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, For Love of the Game and The Upside of Anger, in which his character is a former pro baseball player. The actor plays regularly in celebrity golf tournaments, including the PGA Tour's annual pro-am at Pebble Beach, California and the BMW Pro-Am held each April in Greenville County, South Carolina.
Costner owns 93.5% of the. "Midnight Star" casino, in Deadwood, South Dakota. The casino, its' sports bar, "Diamond Lil's," and its restaurant, "Jake's," are named after characters and locations from the movie Silverado and the facility contains posters, costumes, and other memorabilia from Costner's films. In July 2004, Costner fired Francis and Carla Caneva, who managed the Midnight Star. A judge subsequently order Costner to pay $6.1 million to buy out the Caneva's as his business partners. In October 2006, Costner asked the South Dakota Supreme Court to re-examine the ruling, as an accountant hired by the actor had determined the market value of the casino to be $3.1 million.
Costner is a fan of the London, England, football team Arsenal F.C. While filming Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he was given the opportunity to attend a game and has followed the team ever since. The actor was named ceremonial Grand Marshall of the Auto550 club for the February 25, 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup auto race event at the California Speedway.
He has a home in Austin, Texas and sometimes appears at University of Texas baseball practices and games. Costner is a close friend to Longhorns baseball coach Augie Garrido, from Garrido's days coaching at Cal State Fullerton, the actor's alma mater. He cast Garrido to play the role of "Yankee Manager" in his film For Love of the Game. He tries to attend every College World Series game that Cal State Fullerton plays in Omaha, Nebraska.
He is also the singer of "Kevin Costner and Modern West," a rock/country band which he founded with the encouragement of his wife Christine. He began a worldwide tour with the band in October 2007, which included shows in Istanbul and Rome.
ALL I CAN SAY IS RRRRAAAAARRRRRRWWWWW!!!!!
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