Yellowstone star Kevin Costner and wife Christine Baumgartner hit the red carpet for the 2022 Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sunday, March 27. Costner, who won the Academy Award for Best Picture for his 1990 film Dances With Wolves, was in attendance to present an award during the ceremony.
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Inside Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's Love Story
Costner has been a leading man in Hollywood for decades so it's almost hard to believe there was a time before he was a major star. The Yellowstone star grew up far from the flashing lights of the entertainment industry and even obtained a job in marketing after graduating college. But after a month, he decided he needed to be an actor and it's safe to say that's probably one of the best choices he's ever made.
That and committing to his current wife Christine Baumgartner. Despite spending years together as a couple, the superstar almost didn't marry the handbag designer because he didn't want to have any more kids.
Kevin Costner, left, and Christine Baumgartner attend the LA premiere of "The Art of Racing in the Rain" at the El Capitan Theatre on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
When he was just 22 years old, Costner married his first wife Cindy Silva, a fellow student attending California State University Fullerton. The couple welcomed three children together during their marriage -- Joe, Annie, and Lily Costner. The couple ended up getting a divorce in 1994 after dealing with the strain of Costner's busy schedule filming but remained on good terms to co-parent their children. A brief relationship with Bridget Rooney resulted in another son for the actor, Liam Timothy. So by the time Costner met Christine Baumgartner, he loved her, but he already had four children. To him, that was enough.
The couple split briefly in 2002 after the discussion of more children, but Baumgartner knew that the actor would come around and that their love story wasn't over yet.
"She said, "I'm going to wait for you, but not long. When you come to your senses, come back to me." [laughs] And I did," Costner told Parade.
In 2004, the couple tied the knot at the Golden Globe winner's 165-acre Colorado ranch outside Aspen and have been together ever since. The couple welcomed three children of their own together as well -- Cayden Wyatt Costner, Hayes Logan Costner, and Grace Avery Costner. That means the Academy Award winner has a total of seven children!
"I have played two roles in my life, one I get paid to do, which is the movies," the Field of Dreams star explained to Closer Weekly. "And the other one is being a father, for which I'll be rewarded my whole life."
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While the Bodyguard actor remains close with his adult children, he is currently raising his three youngest with Baumgartner on their Colorado estate, which includes three properties.
"It's just beautiful, with three lakes and a river running through it," he told Closer Weekly in November 2020. "My whole family spends some of our best times there."
When not living at home, the actor is filming his hit Paramount + drama series Yellowstone in Montana and Utah. Considering he already lives on a massive ranch in real life, playing John Dutton on the series really isn't a huge stretch for the actor. Similar to his character, Costner loves the quiet of his ranch, the closeness to nature, and riding horses.
Editors Note: This article was originally published on May 24, 2021.
READ MORE: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kevin Costner's Oscar-Winner 'Dances With Wolves'
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