Who are Kevin Costner’s parents? Inside actor’s family beliefs as he opens up about Christian faith

Kevin Costner recently spoke candidly about practicing faith and family beliefs after narrating the ABC special, Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas.

In an interview with Deseret News, published on December 8, Costner said that it made sense for him to narrate a program about Jesus, considering his "history with the church."

"I've been a part of all kinds of stories, but to be able to narrate the birth of Christ, it seemed appropriate to me, given my history with the church. I was raised in a church. I haven’t probably proclaimed that to the world, but anybody who knows me, knows that. It’s been so much a part of my life — religion that has spread around this world," he said.

Costner was born to William and Sharon Costner and spent his childhood in Compton, California.

According to Hello! Magazine, William worked as an electrician and utilities executive, a job that required the family to move all over the United States.

"I lost a lot of confidence in those years, and almost lost myself," Kevin told GQ in 2024, reflecting on how constant moves affected him.

Although William has since passed away, he was involved in Kevin's projects, including Dances with Wolves.

"In Dances with Wolves, when I'm actually riding, I'm about to give up my life, and I do that Catholic thing, and then the soldier who's about to shoot me gets shot in the forehead. He does that and I cut back, and it's my father with the gun," Kevin said on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in 2014.

He added:

"I said, 'You want to be in the movie, you want to save me?' and he said, 'Yeah.' There's little things that you can throw people into," he concluded.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kevin praised his father's strengths by describing him as a "fighter; he could fight" who "taught me in a way that was designed to win."

Meanwhile, Kevin's mother, Sharon Costner, was a welfare worker and also sang in a choir.

According to USA Today, just like William, Sharon was also involved in two of Kevin's projects, including Tin Cup and For Love of the Game. She passed away in 1998.

During the Late Late Show's episode, Kevin shared that his parents were always very supportive of him and continued supporting him even when he became an adult.

"My parents followed me…they saw my little league games and everything. When I went out to direct a movie, they got a trailer and took it out to South Dakota. They go, 'We won't be in your way, we'll be on a hill over here and we'll watch you' and it was like, 'I'm a grown man.' I would look up on the hill in the morning, and they had two lawn chairs and a motor home, and I go work with all the guys, and I see my mom wave at me, and I [wave] to my mom," said Costner.

Sharon and William had three kids, Kevin, Daniel Craig Costner, and Mark Douglas Costner. Mark sadly passed away after being born prematurely in 1953.

Speaking about Kevin's childhood in an interview with Time in 1989, William said:

"From day one, Kevin was his own person. Once he decided to take charge of organizing a parade at his school."

Speaking about the Parade, Kevin added:

"I figured it was too big a job for an eleven-year-old and said, 'Kevin, you can't do that.' And Kevin said, 'Dad, never tell me I'm not able to do something.' He went ahead and organized the parade."

Kevin Costner calls the story of Jesus Christ "incredibly special"

Elsewhere in the aforementioned interview with the Deseret News, Kevin Costner said he believes religion is "very easy to attack" and not easy to defend.

Still, he considers the story of Jesus Christ "incredibly special."

"You choose to believe. I choose to believe — that doesn’t mean I know how to defend it when someone can come at me from different directions," Costner said.

In a statement to USA Today published on December 8, Kevin called the church his family built in the 1950s his "foundation."

"Our friends came from the church. The church was central in our lives," he said.

Per the outlet, his grandmother was a choir director.

"These fantastic stories of faith and of believing, it's nice to believe in something. I’d hate to live in a world where I don't believe in anything."

The 70-year-old added that people don't always understand "what moves us or what gives us this kind of determination or this faith that we will come out of this dark spot," adding, "We can't. We just choose to believe, and it’s something that has really sustained me."

Stream Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas on Disney+ and Hulu.