Hollywood Icon Kevin Costner On Being A Father: ‘My Children Have Always Been Bigger Than The Movies’

The 65-year-old Kevin Costner is a Hollywood icon, who has directed some of the most beloved movies like Field of Dreams and The Bodyguard. But if you were to ask Kevin what he is the proudest of, he would say it is being a father to his wife and kids.

While there are similarities between Kevin and John Dutton the two are very different dads when it comes to raising their children.

“If [John] keeps making these same mistakes, people will lose faith in who [he is], even as a character,” Kevin recently told IndieWire. But today, Kevin’s life is peaceful on his Aspen ranch with his wife Christine Baumgartner and their blended family. And his story began when he was 22-years-old…

At the ripe age of 22, Kevin married fellow California State University Fullerton student Cindy Silva. On their first official date, Kevin took Cindy to see Funny Girl and then stopped by his house to introduce her to his parents.

Fast forward to 1984 to Kevin and Cindy welcome their daughter, Anne “Annie” Clayton was born on April 15, 1984. Kevin’s eldest child was the first to take after her father. While working on Racing Extinction, a Discovery documentary, the Brown graduate founded Sound Off Films, a production company that focuses on documentaries and natural history content production.

And in 1986, less than two years later, the two welcomed Lily McCall on August 4, 1986. And much like her sister, Lily has an artistic background too. In addition to a few minor TV roles through the years and being named “Miss Golden Globe” in 2004, Lily is also a folk singer. 

In 1988, Bull Durham was released and he welcomes his first son, Joseph “Joe” Tedrick. Costner also becomes the owner of Spartan Recording in this time, which uses a mobile recording studio to capture authentic sounds of nature.

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And in 1994, Cindy and Kevin divorced due to his busy movie schedule but the two continue to co-parent their three children.

Two years after his divorce from Cindy was made official, Kevin goes public with his new girlfriend, Bridget Rooney. During their brief relationship, she gave birth to Liam Timothy on November 15, 1996.

And after several years of being single, Kevin decides to marry Christine but before they do get hitched, the duo takes a break as Kevin didn’t want more children.

“She said, ‘I’m going to wait for you, but not long. When you come to your senses, come back to me,'” he confessed to Parade 2012. “And I did.”

He also revealed to the outlet how he makes his marriage work. “Maybe it’s the ability to say you’re sorry. I know that sounds so simple. If you’re willing to tell somebody that you love them, are you also willing to say you’re sorry? You need to, even when you think you’re in the right.”

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The couple now has three gorgeous children.

Their son, Cayden Costner was born on May 6, 2007. Hayes, the couple’s second child, was born on February 12, 2009. And the couple then welcomed their daughter, Grace, on June 2, 2010. Costner has four other children from previous relationships.

And when the proud father accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards in 2015, the actor thanked his children for helping make his dream of being a movie star a reality.

“All the years, all the tears saying goodbye at airports as I headed off to do yet another movie. Their brave faces trying to comprehend the time that I would be away and when I would come home. Hugs that never wanted to end. My children have always been bigger than the movies. They’ve always been more important. It’s because of them that I’ve been able to do what I love.”