Kurt Cobain’s legacy lives on owing to his only daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, of Nirvana. Here’s everything you need to know about Frances.
Kurt Cobain, the frontman of Nirvana, died 28 years ago this April. After years of dealing with drug addiction and depression, the iconic rockstar died at the age of 27 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Kurt is survived by his wife, Courtney Love, 57, and their daughter Frances Bean Cobain, 29.
When Frances’ famous father died tragically at the age of two, she was only two years old. She’s since blossomed into a talented and remarkable adult, despite her share of setbacks. On Instagram in February 2018, Frances celebrated two years of recovery.
«I want to be able to notice and observe that my journey may be useful, even helpful to other individuals going through similar or different experiences,» she wrote at the time. «Being present for all the terrible, bizarre, unpleasant, awful, f*cked up things that have ever happened or will ever happen is an everyday battle.» HollywoodLife has compiled a list of everything you need to know about Frances Bean Cobain.
Frances Bean Cobain at the Moschino x H&M show in New York on Oct. 24, 2018
Who is Frances Bean Cobain?
Frances was born in Los Angeles on August 18, 1992. Frances McKee, the guitarist for The Vaselines, was her name. Former R.E.M frontman Michael Stipe and actress Drew Barrymore are her godparents. Courtney was suspected of using heroin when pregnant with Frances, an accusation she disputed. Kurt and Courtney’s parenting was later the subject of a child welfare investigation, which was finally dropped.
Frances was reared by extended family members, notably her grandmother, when Kurt died, while her mother battled drug addiction. She was given control of Kurt’s publicity rights and image, as well as inheriting 37 percent of his assets. According to rumors, Frances is worth over $11 million.
She received her education at Bard College in New York, where she majored in art. She then went on to explore modeling and painting occupations. She apparently wore her father’s renowned brown cardigan and pajama trousers for her first modeling gig with Elle UK Magazine.
She continues to shine as a model, even being appointed the face of Marc Jacobs’ Spring/Summer 2017 campaign. She’s organized multiple art exhibits and flaunts her art collections on her 1.4 million-follower Instagram account.
Frances Bean Cobain & Courtney Love at 2017 Paris Fashion Week
Frances also served as an executive producer for the HBO documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, which aired in 2015. Kurt’s life was covered in this project, from his youth to his rise to popularity and difficulties with narcotics, all the way up to his suicide in 1994.
«It’s emotional journalism,» Frances said of the documentary to Rolling Stone. «It’s the closest thing to Kurt telling his own experience in his own terms — with his own aesthetic, his own way of seeing the world.» It depicts a man striving to cope with his human condition.»
Is Frances married or unmarried?
Frances is not married at the moment. She is, however, dating Riley Hawk, the son of Tony Hawk, a skating superstar. Their relationship was initially revealed in December 2021, and they look to still be together. Frances was previously married to Isaiah Silva of The Eeries. Their wedding was on June 29, 2014, but Frances filed for divorce less than two years later. In November 2017, Frances and Isaiah formalized their divorce.
The relationship between Frances and her parents.
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love with baby Frances in 1993
Frances was just two years old at the time of her father’s death, thus she never met the famed rocker. Frances paid a visit to her father in a treatment center one week before his death, according to Kurt’s 2001 biography, Happier Than Heaven, published by Charles R. Cross. According to reports, this was the last time she saw her father alive.
Through her modeling and artwork, as well as the Montage of Heck documentary, Frances has continued to respect her father’s legacy. In 2015, she told Rolling Stone, «I was around 15 when I realized he was inescapable.» «Even if I was driving and listening to the radio, there’s my father.» He inspired people to elevate him to the status of St. Kurt. He became larger after his death than while he was alive. It couldn’t have gotten any bigger, right? But it happened.»
Frances has always had a tense connection with her mother. Courtney was a drug addict who lost custody of Frances in October 2003 after a drug-related arrest. She overdosed on painkillers afterward, but she survived. In 2005, Courtney was finally granted custody.
Years later, a California judge named Frances’ grandmother, Wendy O’Connor, and aunt, Kimberly Cobain, as temporary co-guardians of Frances. Courtney was also barred from seeing her daughter due to a restraining order. Frances even refused to invite her mother to her wedding in 2014.
After watching Montage of Heck together, Frances and Courtney were able to patch up their differences. «On this large couch, we were kind of spooning.» She told Rolling Stone, «And we were both weeping.» In the interview, Frances also stated that she and her mother «had settled a lot of our difficulties.» I matured. She, too, grew up.»
