Kevin Costner
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Kevin Michael Costner was born on January 18, 1955 in Lynwood, California, the third
child of Bill Costner, a ditch digger and
ultimately an electric line servicer for Southern California Edison,
and Sharon Costner (née Tedrick), a
welfare worker. His older brother, Dan, was born in 1950. A middle
brother died at birth in 1953. His father's job required him to move
regularly, which caused Kevin to feel like an Army kid, always the new
kid at school, which led to him being a daydreamer. As a teen, he sang
in the Baptist church choir, wrote poetry, and took writing classes. At
18, he built his own canoe and paddled his way down the rivers that
Lewis & Clark followed to the Pacific. Despite his present height, he
was only 5'2" when he graduated high school. Nonetheless, he still
managed to be a basketball, football and baseball star. In 1973, he
enrolled at California State University at Fullerton, where he majored
in business. During that period, Kevin decided to take acting lessons
five nights a week. He graduated with a business degree in 1978 and
married his college sweetheart,
Cindy Costner. He initially took a
marketing job in Orange County. Everything changed when he accidentally
met Richard Burton on a flight
from Mexico. Burton advised him to go completely after acting if that
is what he wanted. He quit his job and moved to Hollywood soon after.
He drove a truck, worked on a deep sea fishing boat, and gave bus tours
to stars' homes before finally making his own way into the films. After
making one soft core sex film, he vowed to not work again if that was
the only work he could do. He didn't work for nearly six years, while
he waited for a proper break. That break came with
The Big Chill (1983), even though
his scenes ended up on the cutting room floor -- he was remembered by
director Lawrence Kasdan when he decided
to make Silverado (1985). Costner's
career took off after that.