It’s been 30 years since Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain died. The legendary rockstar died at age 27 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, after years of struggling with drug addiction and depression. Kurt left behind his wife, Hole frontwoman Courtney Love, and their daughter Frances Bean Cobain. Frances was not even 2 years old when her famous father tragically passed. She’s since grown into a talented and inspiring adult, though she’s had her fair share of troubles. In February 2018, Frances marked 2 years of sobriety on Instagram. On the 30th anniversary of her late father’s death, Frances posted a heart-wrenching tribute to Kurt.
“Thirty years ago my dad’s life ended,” she captioned an Instagram post on April 5, 2024. “I wish I could’ve known my Dad. … But there is also deep wisdom being on an expedited path to understanding how precious life is. He gifted me a lesson in death that can only come through the LIVED experience of losing someone. It’s the gift of knowing for certain, when we love ourselves & those around us with compassion, with openness, with grace, the more meaningful our time here inherently becomes.”
She then revealed that Kurt had written Frances a letter before he died.
“Kurt wrote me a letter before I was born. The last line of it reads, ‘Wherever you go or wherever I go, I will always be with you,’ she added. “He kept this promise because he is present in so many ways. Whether it’s by hearing a song or through the hands we share, in those moments I get to spend a little time with my dad & he feels transcendent.”
Below, HollywoodLife has rounded up everything there is to know about Frances Bean Cobain.
Who is Frances Bean Cobain?
Frances was born on August 18, 1992 in Los Angeles. She was named after The Vaselines guitarist Frances McKee. Her godparents are former R.E.M frontman Michael Stipe and actress Drew Barrymore. Courtney was accused of using heroin while she was pregnant with Frances, which she denied. However, child welfare services later launched an investigation into Kurt and Courtney’s parenting, though it was eventually dismissed.
After Kurt’s death, Frances was raised by extended family members, including her grandmother, as her mother struggled with drug abuse. She inherited 37% of Kurt’s estate and was granted control of his publicity rights and image. Frances is worth over $11 million, according to reports. She attended Bard College in New York, where she studied art. She then pursued careers in both modeling and art. Her first modeling job was with Elle UK Magazine, for which she reportedly wore her father’s famous brown cardigan and pajama pants. She continued to flourish as a model and was even named the face of Marc Jacob‘s Spring/Summer campaign in 2017. She’s opened several art exhibits and shows off her art collections on her Instagram account, which has over 1.4 million followers.
Frances was also an executive producer on the 2015 HBO documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck. The project chronicled Kurt’s life, from his childhood, through his rise to fame and struggles with drugs, up to his 1994 suicide. “It’s emotional journalism,” Frances told Rolling Stone of the documentary. “It’s the closest thing to having Kurt tell his own story in his own words – by his own aesthetic, his own perception of the world. It paints a portrait of a man attempting to cope with being a human.”
Is Frances Bean Cobain Married?
Frances married Riley Hawk, son of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, in October 2023. Their romance was first made public in December 2021. Frances was previously married to The Eeeries musician Isaiah Silva. Their wedding took place on June 29, 2014, but less than two years later, Frances filed for divorce. Frances and Isaiah finalized their divorce in November 2017.
Frances’ Relationship With Her Parents
Frances was not even 2 years old when her father died, so she never got to know the legendary rocker. Kurt’s 2001 biography, titled Happier Than Heaven and written by Charles R. Cross, revealed that Frances visited her father at a rehab center one week before his death. This was reportedly the last time she saw her dad alive. Frances has continued to honor her father’s legacy through her modeling and artwork, as well as the Montage of Heck documentary. “I was around 15 when I realized he was inescapable,” she told Rolling Stone in 2015. “Even if I was in a car and had the radio on, there’s my dad. He inspired people to put him on a pedestal, to become St. Kurt. He became even bigger after he died than he was when he was alive. You don’t think it could have gotten any bigger. But it did.”
Frances’ relationship with her mother has always been complicated. Courtney was addicted to drugs and lost custody of Frances due to her drug-related arrest in October 2003. Afterwards, she overdosed on painkillers but survived. Courtney eventually got custody back in 2005. But years later, Frances’ grandmother, Wendy O’Connor, and aunt, Kimberly Cobain, were named temporary co-guardians of Frances by a California judge. A restraining order also prohibited Courtney from seeing her daughter. Frances even excluded her mother from her 2014 wedding.
Frances and Courtney were able to mend fences once they watched Montage of Heck together. “We were kind of spooning on this big couch. And we were both crying,” she told Rolling Stone. Frances also confirmed in the interview that she and her mother “have resolved a lot of our issues. I grew up. And she grew up too.”
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).