Frances Bean Cobain (born August 18, 1992) is the only child of rock musician Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) and Hole singer Courtney Love.

  Early life and family

Cobain was born in Los Angeles, California.^[1] She was named after Frances McKee, the guitarist for the Scottish indie pop duo The Vaselines.^[2][3][4] Her godfather is former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, and Drew Barrymore is her godmother.^[5]

Before Love gave birth to her daughter, there were rumors suggesting that she used heroin during her pregnancy. This scandal intensified when Vanity Fair published Lynn Hirschberg's article "Strange Love" that alleged Love admitted to using heroin even after learning of her pregnancy. Along with Cobain, Love maintained that Vanity Fair took her words out of context. Eventually, child welfare services launched an investigation questioning their parenting abilities. The investigation was eventually dismissed, but not without a significant amount of legal wrangling and being removed from her parents' custody for a short time, beginning when she was two weeks old.

On April 1, 1994, Cobain visited Kurt at the Exodus Recovery Center, a rehab center in Marina Del Rey, California, where they played together. This would be the last time Cobain saw her father alive.^[6] In the early morning hours of April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle.^[7] A final ceremony was arranged for Kurt Cobain by his mother on May 31, 1999, attended by both Courtney Love and Tracy Marander.^[8].

Cobain was subsequently raised by her mother, her aunts, and her paternal grandmother.^[9] During her kindergarten year, Cobain attended Highland Hall in Northridge, California. While her mother was filming The People Vs. Larry Flynt in Memphis, Tennessee, Cobain attended The Maria Montessori School for a short time. She also enrolled at The Willows Community School, located in Culver City, California for elementary school and middle school. Beginning in 2004, she attended Happy Medium School in Seattle, now called Giddens School.

During Love's hospital stint in 2003, Cobain was put into the care of her grandmother. Cobain was returned to the custody of Love several months later. In late 2005, Love's father Hank Harrison prepared a brief petitioning a Los Angeles court for visitation rights to the minor child, but the petition was denied.

On December 11, 2009, a California Superior Court in Los Angeles appointed Wendy O'Connor, her paternal grandmother, and Kimberly Cobain, her father's sister, as temporary co-guardians of Frances.^[10] On December 16, 2009, it was reported that a judge had issued a related temporary restraining order, prohibiting Love from having any direct or indirect contact with her daughter.^[11] The papers were filed under the heading "motion to seal all documents … relating to a minor and allegations of domestic violence." Among those documents are Frances's medical records, according to the filing.^[12]

On August 18, 2010, Cobain inherited 37% of her late father's estate.^[13]

Newly revealed documents from the Fix.com shows that Frances, not her mother, Courtney Love, now controls the publicity rights to the name and image of her late father, Kurt Cobain. According to the Fix.com until her mother pays back a loan for $2.75 million dollars which Love borrowed from her daughter's trust fund, Courtney has no rights or say over his legacy. ^{[14] [15] [16]}

  Modeling

In August 2006, she was photographed for Elle magazine in her father's famous brown cardigan and pajama pants as part of an article featuring children of rock stars in their parents' clothing. She explained, "I wore his pajamas because he got married in them to my mom in 1992 in Hawaii so I thought they would be cute if I wore them today. He was too lazy to put on a tux so he got married in pajamas!" In February 2008, she appeared in a photo spread for Harper's Bazaar.^[17] Cobain modeled for Hedi Slimane for a web photo series released August 2, 2011.^[18][19][20]

  Art

In July 2010, Cobain debuted a collection of artwork titled "Scumfuck" under the pseudonym "Fiddle Tim" at the La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles.^[21][22][23]

  Other activities

According to Rolling Stone magazine, the title and cover photograph for the 2005 box set Sliver: The Best of the Box, were chosen by Cobain.^[24]

Cobain worked as an intern for Rolling Stone magazine from June to August 2008.^[25]

Cobain appeared as a guest vocalist on the song "My Space" from the album Evelyn Evelyn by Evelyn Evelyn, which was released March 30, 2010.^[26] Amanda Palmer from Evelyn Evelyn clarified that Cobain was one of some 20 artists who sang the same line and whose voices were mixed together in the recording.^[27]

  Personal life

Cobain has given five official interviews. In September 2005, a thirteen-year-old Cobain gave her first interview to Teen Vogue where she discussed her personal style and mentioned her parents.^[28] Another appeared in the January 2006 issue of i-D, where she expressed negativity over tabloid portrayals of her mother and was quoted as saying, "When you see a lot of lies about her in the tabloids, it can be hurtful."^[5]

In September 2008, Cobain hosted a suicide-themed party at the House of Blues in Los Angeles to celebrate an "RIP Childhood" 16th birthday.^[29] The event was funded by Love, and included a performance from Mindless Self Indulgence.

She began dating musician Isaiah Silva (born 1985) in 2010. In October 2011, it was announced that Cobain and Silva were engaged.^[30][31]

  References