Kevin Costner Marks 70th Birthday by Remembering the Late Whitney Houston

Turning 70, Kevin Costner remembers the recent Whitney Houston.

Costner marked his 70th trip around the sun on Saturday, January 18, by sharing a throwback photo Instagram Story of himself and the late singer while on set in the 1992s Bodyguard. The two starred in the romantic thriller, which earned two 1993 Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song.

“This picture reminds me how lucky I am to have another birthday,” said the Yellowstone star wrote. “We lost such a light when we lost Whitney.”

The photo was originally shared via Houston’s Instagram, which is now managed by his estate, in honor of Costner’s milestone birthday. “Happy birthday to Kevin Costner!” he read the caption. “And behind the scenes picture of The Watchdog with Kevin, Whitney and Ellin LaVarWhitney’s hairstylist for the film.”

Costner has previously been open about the love he still has for Houston, who died in 2012 aged 48. “I loved her — it’s not like this huge mystery — so I knew she had to be the one,” he said on the June 2024 episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast.

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At the time, Costner, who also produced the film, remembered that Bodyguard director Mick Jackson was “afraid” of Houston, so the actor began “guiding” her on set. The actor said he had to advise the singer “not to bring an entourage” during the film’s production.

“And I wasn’t trying to usurp my director, but I had made a promise to her, not to — gio,” Costner continued, noting that he had promised Houston that the film would perform well in theaters despite poor reception during test screenings. .

“I was always going to keep my promise to her,” he said. “(I said), ‘I’m going to take care of you if there’s a person you care about’ – turned out to be. Robin Crawford — I said, ‘Let’s have Robyn with you.’ And that’s how we started.”

He added, “I don’t know what it was, but we had a moment, and I realized that the world had a higher idea of ​​who we were, so I basically embraced it. I was her imaginary bodyguard.”

Since her death, the Dances with Wolves alum has spoken honestly about her legacy, and was among many friends and loved ones who speak in her honor at her funeral service in 2012.

“Whitney is returning home today to where it all began,” he told mourners at the time. “And I urge all of us, inside and outside, across the nation and around the world to dry our tears, hold back our sadness – and maybe our anger – just long enough, just long enough to remember Whitney’s sweet miracle.”

“Go away, Whitney, go away,” he continued. “Escorted by an army of angels to your heavenly father, and when you sing before him, don’t worry … you’ll be good enough.”