Kevin Costner Recalls Whitney Houston Friendship on His 70th Birthday

Kevin Costner is remembering Whitney Houston on his 70th birthday.

On Saturday, Jan. 18, Costner turned 70 and shared a throwback photo in an Instagram Stories post featuring himself with the late singer on the set of 1992’s romantic thriller The Bodyguard. The photo came from Houston’s Instagram account, which is now managed by her estate. 

“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.

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 from The Bodyguard with Kevin, Whitney and Ellin LaVar, Whitney’s hairstylist for the film.”

Costner also celebrated his milestone birthday by sharing a throwback photo of himself as a child decked out in cowboy attire.

“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.

During the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2022, which were held close to the 10-year anniversary of Houston’s death, Costner stopped by the PEOPLE & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet and took a moment to talk about how he continues to keep her memory alive.

“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 of Dolly 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.”

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.”

In an exclusive PEOPLE cover story from June 2024, the Yellowstone star also opened up about the time Dionne Warwick persuaded him to speak at Houston’s memorial service. Costner, who delivered a heartfelt 17-minute eulogy at the service, recalled being deeply moved by his experience at the memorial at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J.

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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.’ “