'She was my one true love': Inside the heartwarming love story of Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The blockbuster romantic drama of 1992, 'The Bodyguard', featured Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner opposite one another. Surprisingly, one of the six songs Houston sang in the romantic drama thriller featured a significant part for Costner. The 1992 movie's lead actors played a pop megastar and a former Secret Service agent recruited to look after her, had an amazing chemistry together.
The movie was a major box office hit, and Houston's power ballad-heavy soundtrack, which featured her cover of 'I Will Always Love You,' sold millions of copies worldwide. But another beautiful aspect of the movie was the bond that formed between Kevin and Whitney, who played the co-stars. They developed a close friendship; in fact, Kevin spoke of her at her funeral in 2012, tragically demonstrating how close they were.
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How did Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston get along?
The songs Houston sang as the fictional idol Rachel Marron were all original compositions by Houston, who was already an established name in the music industry at the time 'The Bodyguard' was released. She felt quite insecure when she was cast as the lead in 'The Bodyguard' alongside Costner. Houston would receive the necessary support and assistance from Costner to overcome her fear, as per The Things.
Before Houston was cast in the movie, Costner was associated with 'The Bodyguard.' At Houston's funeral in 2012, Costner delivered a eulogy during which he discussed those who attempted to dissuade him from working with Houston. "I was reminded that this would be her first acting role," he said. "We could also think about another singer was a suggestion. Maybe somebody white. Nobody ever said it out loud, but it was a fair question. It was. There would be a lot riding on this. Maybe a more experienced actress was the way to go. It was clear I really had to think about this," 'The Bodyguard' continued.
Houston was led by Costner during the entire filming process. Houston's first film part had great expectations, thus he was aware of her anxiety. But he was confident that she could succeed. When the movie was being filmed, Houston was only 29 years old. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Costner remembered, "She was a really street-smart girl, she knew stuff. I knew she could handle the part but she wasn’t sure she could handle it."
In addition to playing the agent Frank Farmer in the movie, Costner also served as one of the film's producers, assuming a substantial amount of responsibility in its making. But when they worked together, Houston and Costner created even more magic than their characters' romantic relationship or their extraordinary individual performances could have. Houston and Costner met while working on 'The Bodyguard', and they went on to work together to create one of the film's and the world's biggest hit songs.
'I Will Always Love You'
Finding 'The Bodyguard's defining song to go with Costner's iconic voice of a generation was effortless after Houston's participation with Costner was confirmed. Jimmy Ruffin's 'What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted' was one of many songs considered for 'The Bodyguard's soundtrack, but it was ultimately rejected. However, it was Costner who introduced his co-star, Houston, to Dolly Parton's original country croon 'I Will Always Love You' in an act of musical brilliance.
'I Will Always Love You', a song from the movie's soundtrack that spent 14 weeks at No. 1 and was performed by Houston, featured Costner prominently. Houston singing the first song without any background music was Costner's idea, despite the producers' initial opposition.
Kevin to Whitney: 'She was my one true love'
Kevin stated in a statement at the time of Whitney Houston's death in February 2012: "She was my one true love." In an interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN in April of that year, Costner opened up candidly about the letters he used to write to Whitney, hoping they would help her obtain the support she needed to fight her addictions, as reported by Smooth Radio.
"There are some people that really love Whitney, and a couple times during the last seven, eight years, they asked me, would I write her a letter?" said Costner. "She would always be close to me, she would always be somebody I appreciated. When someone says, will you write a letter to someone who you know is having trouble ... I did. I don't know if those letters were ever read," Costner added.
"We both grew up in a Baptist church. It was easy for us to laugh," Costner recalled at Whitney's funeral in 2012. "I can see her in my own mind running around here as a skinny little girl knowing everyone, everyone's business, knowing every inch of this place. I can also see her in trouble, too."
