Frances Bean Cobain

Frances Bean Cobain
Born	Frances Bean Cobain (1992-08-18) August 18, 1992 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Visual artist
Net worth	$170 million (2011)[1]
Partner(s)	Isaiah Silva (2010–present; engaged)
Parents	Kurt Donald Cobain Courtney Michelle Love

Frances Bean Cobain (born August 18, 1992) is an American visual artist,^[2] and only child of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Hole frontwoman Courtney Love.

Early life

Cobain was born in Los Angeles, California.^[3] She was named after Frances McKee, the guitarist for the Scottish indie pop duo The Vaselines.^[4][5][6]

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 husband Kurt Cobain, Love maintained that Vanity Fair took her words out of context.^[7] 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 Cobain being removed from her parents' custody for a short time, beginning when she was two weeks old.

On April 1, 1994, Cobain visited her father, Kurt Cobain, 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.^[8] In the early morning hours of April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle.^[9] A final ceremony was arranged for Kurt Cobain by his mother on May 31, 1999, attended by both Love and Tracy Marander.^[10] Cobain was subsequently raised by her mother, aunts, and paternal grandmother.^[11]

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 Cobain.^[12] 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.^[13] 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 Cobain's medical records, according to the filing.^[14]

On August 18, 2010, Cobain inherited 37% of her late father's estate.^[15] Documents showed that Cobain, not Love, now controls the publicity rights to the name and image of her late father, Kurt Cobain.^[16][17]

Career

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.^[18] Cobain modeled for Hedi Slimane for a web photo series released August 2, 2011.^[19][20][21]

Artwork

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.^[22][23][24]

On August 4, 2012 Cobain participated in the group show 'MiXTAPE' under her given name. Artists were asked to pick a song and create art inspired by that song. Frances chose the song "Black" by The Jesus And Mary Chain. The eclectic mix of songs chosen were featured for digital download on iTunes.^[25][26][27]

On October 30, 2012, Cobain announced that her first solo exhibition would take place in February 2013.^[28]

Other work

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.^[29]

Cobain worked as an intern for Rolling Stone magazine from June to August 2008.^[30]

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.^[31] 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.^[32]

Personal life

Cobain has given six official interviews. In September 2005, a 13-year-old Cobain gave her first interview, to Teen Vogue where she discussed her personal style and mentioned her parents.^[33] 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." She also gave an interview in 2010 about her art as "Fiddle Tim."

In September 2008, Cobain hosted a suicide-themed party at the House of Blues in Los Angeles to celebrate a "RIP Childhood" 16th birthday. The event was funded by Love, and included a performance from Mindless Self Indulgence.^[34]

In early January 2010, she began dating musician Isaiah Silva, the vocalist of alternative rock band The Rambles. In October 2011, it was announced that Cobain and Silva were engaged.^[35][36]

References