Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s legacy lives on thanks to his only daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. Here’s what you need to know about Frances.
This April will mark 28 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, 57, and their daughter Frances Bean Cobain, 29. 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 Feb. 2018, Frances marked 2 years of sobriety on Instagram.
“I want to have the capacity to recognize & observe that my journey might be informative, even helpful to other people who are going through something similar or different,” she wrote at the time. “It is an everyday battle to be in attendance for all the painful, bazaar, uncomfortable, tragic, f*cked up things that have ever happened or will ever happen.” Below, HollywoodLife has rounded up everything there is to know about Frances Bean Cobain.
Frances Bean Cobain at the Moschino x H&M show in New York on Oct. 24, 2018 (Photo: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock)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 Bean Cobain & Courtney Love at 2017 Paris Fashion Week (Photo: Pixelformula/Sipa/Shutterstock)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 married?
No, Frances is not currently married. She is, however, currently dating Riley Hawk, son of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Their romance was first made public in Dec. 2021, and they appear to still be dating. 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.
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love with baby Frances in 1993 (Photo: Mediapunch/Shutterstock)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.”
