Kevin Costner Says He’s ‘Lucky’ to Get Another Birthday as He Recalls Whitney Houston Friendship: ‘We Lost Such a Light’

Mar. 15, 2025

Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner in 1992.Photo:Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Kevin Costneris rememberingWhitney Houstonon his 70th birthday.

“This photo reminds me of how lucky I am to be getting another birthday," Costner captioned the post. “We lost such a light when we lost Whitney.”

Houston, who starred alongside him in the film,died in 2012 at age 48.

Kevin Costner shares photo from 1992’s ‘The Bodyguard’.Kevin Costner /Instagram

Kevin Costner /Instagram

In the photo, Costner is seen standing next to the “I Will Always Love You” singer and hairstylist Ellin LaVar.

“Happy birthday to Kevin Costner!” the caption read. “A behind the scenes photo fromThe Bodyguardwith Kevin, Whitney and Ellin LaVar, Whitney’s hairstylist for the film.”

“Thank you guys for the birthday wishes,” Costner said in the caption.

“If you can believe it, this is me. I was chasing the cowboy life just about as soon as I could walk, and here I am doing it still,” he continued. “Here’s to another year of keeping our sights set on our dreams.”

This isn’t the first time Costner has paid tribute to Houston in recent years.

“When movies are working at their very best, they’re about moments and images that you’ll never ever forget,” Costner told PEOPLE.

He then referenced Houston’s cover ofDolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

“I don’t think we’ll ever forget when that little song came out, that she just blew up,” Costner said. “She sang the first part of it a cappella and musically the world was never the same.”

Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston on ‘The Bodyguard’ set.

He continued, “We have a moment of her in that movie we’ll never ever forget that and I think that when movies are working at their best, that’s what can happen.”

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“I remember being in the pews, and I had never been in a church that was more electric,” he told PEOPLE. “Two bands were playing … I thought this place was on fire.”

At one point in the service, Costner was advised to keep his eulogy short due to the presence of CNN, but that didn’t stop him from properly paying tribute to his friend.

“I said, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realize CNN was here, but they can take a commercial break,’ " the actor said. " ‘I’m going to say what I want to say. I came a long way to talk about this little girl.’ "

source: people.com