Lynwood, California
city in Los Angeles County, California, United States
Videos
Happy Birthday, Kevin Costner!
Kevin Costner Says Being from Compton Makes Diversity in Films Important to Him: 'I'm Conscious of Race'
The Simpsons Kevin Costner Waterworld skit is now a real game! : nostalgia
Kevin Costner's Box Office Failure, 'Horizon,' Is Picking Up Steam on Streaming
Where was Kevin Costner born?
What was Kevin Costner’s first movie?
Who did Kevin Costner marry?
Born 69 years ago today, January 18, 1955, in Lynwood, California, Kevin Costner grew up in nearby Compton, California. His parents were William and Sharon Costner. He is the youngest of three boys, the second of whom died at birth. Sharon Rae Costner (née Tedrick) was a welfare worker, and William Costner was an electrician and a utilities executive.
Costner's father's heritage originates with German immigrants to North Carolina in the 1700s, and Costner also has English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry. Costner was raised Baptist. He was not academically inclined in school, but did play sports (especially football), take piano lessons, write poetry, and sing in the First Baptist Choir. He has said that watching the 1962 film HOW THE WEST WAS WON as a child inspired his love for Western films.