The Bodyguard (1992 film)

The Bodyguard is a 1992 American romantic thriller drama film directed by Mick Jackson, written by Lawrence Kasdan, and starring Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston (in her movie acting debut), Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs, and Ralph Waite. The film follows a former United States Secret Service agent turned bodyguard who is hired to protect a famous actor and singer from an unknown stalker. Kasdan wrote the film in the mid-1970s, originally as a vehicle for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross.

The Bodyguard was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on November 25, 1992. The film grossed $411 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1992, but received mostly unfavorable reviews from critics. The film's accompanying soundtrack by Houston became the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, with sales of over 50 million copies worldwide, and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, while the singles "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You" received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The film received seven nominations at the 13th Golden Raspberry Awards, including for Worst Picture, Worst Actor (for Costner) and Worst Actress (for Houston). In spite of the Razzies, Houston received best acting nominations at the People's Choice Awards, MTV Movie & TV Awards and the NAACP Image Awards. Billboard later listed Houston's performance in the film as the 27th best performance of a musician in a box-office film. The film and soundtrack cemented Houston’s status as a pop culture icon.