Frances Bean Cobain, the child of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, was born in August 1992, shortly after her parents famously tied the knot in Hawaii. Her parents reportedly started calling her 'Bean' when they first saw her at an ultrasound check-up. The family happiness didn't last, though. In April 1994, Kurt Cobain died by suicide in his Seattle home. Childhood wasn't easy for little Frances, especially because her mother continued to struggle with substance abuse problems up until recently.
Frances never knew her father and harbored a lot of anger and resentment towards her mother, but as time went by, she made peace with the past and learned to prioritize her wellbeing. Just like her parents, she also grew up to pursue art. But rather than focusing on music, she's a visual artist.
8 Kurt Cobain Died When Frances Was Less Than Two Years Old
Frances Bean Cobain never knew her father. He died when she was just a baby, in 1994. Even though she has no recollection of him, she is fully aware of his legacy and contributes to keeping his memory alive.
She did, however, grow up on stories about her father and is reminded of him nearly every day. After all, Nirvana t-shirts are still as popular as they were back in the '90s when her father was a world-famous musician. As for the cause of his death, Frances found out how her dad died when she was 5 years old.
7 Frances Was Close To Her Grandmother Wendy
Courtney Love married Kurt Cobain in 1992 and it is no secret that the couple struggled with substance abuse. When Frances was just two weeks old, she was removed from their care by social services. She was raised by several family members, including her paternal grandmother, Wendy, her aunts, and Courtney Love. Frances talks of Wendy fondly; she told Harper's Bazaar that her grandmother was "the only constant thing" in her life. To this day, they remain close and support each other.
6 Frances Resented Courtney Love For A Long Time
On the other hand, Frances didn't really like Courtney Love all that much as a mother. In 2003, Love lost custody of the 11-year-old Frances, so the girl was placed into her grandmother's care.
In 2019, Frances was a guest on RuPaul's podcast "What's The Tee", and opened up about how she used to feel about her mom: "bitter and angry and upset and resentful for a really long time". As a child, she often took care of Courtney rather than the other way around. For example, she had to call the paramedics to have Love's stomach pumped once.
5 Frances Wanted Courtney To Be Banned From Twitter
Courtney doesn't enjoy the best reputation among Nirvana fans; some believe that the "Hole" singer took advantage of Cobain and was only in it for fortune and fame. To this day, she is associated with Cobain, even though their relationship was tumultuous and far from happy. Love infuriated her daughter in 2012 when she posted a series of tweets, claiming Dave Grohl, Nirvana's drummer and the vocalist of Foo Fighters, was hitting on her daughter. "While I’m generally silent on the affairs of my biological mother, her recent tirade has taken a gross turn," said Frances. "I have never been approached by Dave Grohl in more than a platonic way."
4 'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck' Brought The Mother And Daughter Closer Together
For two decades, the mother-daughter relationship was strained, to say the very least. The tide started turning around the time Brett Morgen's documentary about the Nirvana frontman came out. Frances collaborated on the project as an executive producer. When the time to watch the screening came, Frances asked her mother to watch it with her. "We were kind of spooning on this big couch. And we were both crying," Frances said, according to Rolling Stone. "My mother held me, cried on me and just said, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry'". Apparently, it was the very first time Courtney apologized to Frances for what her parents had put her through.
3 Frances Doesn't Feel Entitled To Kurt's Money
Courtney and Kurt's child has a hefty fortune, thanks to publicity rights and Kurt's estate. However, Frances feels guilty about receiving all that money, since she feels as if she was getting it from a stranger. "It’s almost like this big, giant loan that I’ll never get rid of. I have an almost foreign relationship to it or guilt because it feels like money from somebody that I’ve never met, let alone haven't earned myself," she said on the abovementioned RuPaul's podcast.
2 Frances And Courtney Now Get Along
Despite the family trauma, Frances and Courtney now get along just fine. Frances has forgiven her mother and often publicly shares appreciation posts for her. While she called her mother self-destructive, she also told RuPaul that she knows that her mother is a "beautiful and kind person". When Frances married in 2014, she didn't invite Love to the ceremony. Today, however, the two are seen attending events together. For Frances' latest birthday, Courtney Love got a tattoo and dedicated it to her only daughter.
1 Frances Isn't A Nirvana Fan
Frances Cobain seems to have a realistic grasp on her father's personality, struggles, and mindset. She believes that Kurt didn't want to be "a voice of the entire generation", she told Rolling Stone. Even though she speaks fondly of him, she also confessed to not liking Nirvana all that much - with the exception of 'Dumb' and 'Territorial Pissings'. "I’m more into Mercury Rev, Oasis, Brian Jonestown Massacre," she said.