Meet Kurt Cobain’s millionaire daughter, Frances Bean Cobain: the Nirvana legend’s only child wanted Twitter to ban mum Courtney Love, was nearly in Twilight, loves RuPaul and is dating Tony Hawk’s son
The only child of 90s rock legends Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, Frances Bean Cobain, was born in 1992 and, even as a baby, was no stranger to controversy. At just two weeks old, child welfare officers removed her from her parents’ home after Love claimed in Vanity Fair that she had been using heroin while pregnant.
Baby Frances was eventually returned to her parents but tragically, her father – the talented yet troubled frontman of the grunge rock band Nirvana – took his own life in 1994.
As Kurt’s only child, Frances automatically became an heiress to his estate – which is considerable, to say the least, given that Nirvana is one of the bestselling rock bands of all time. In fact, since her 30th birthday in August, Frances is now reportedly in possession of a trust fund worth US$200 million, making her a centimillionaire overnight, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
So what else do we know about the uber-wealthy rock princess?
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She has control of her dad’s publicity rights
As Kurt’s widow, Love controlled the rights to his likeness, name and appearance in the years after his death. In 2010, however, Love’s debts had piled up, and she was forced to give up those (extremely valuable) rights in order to receive a US$2.75 million loan from her daughter Frances’ trust fund, per Pitchfork.
Since she turned 18, Frances has raked in around US$100,000 per month from those rights, royalties and investment dividends, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
She lived beyond her means in her 20s
For most people, US$100,000 would be plenty to live on each month. But Cobain admitted that she routinely overspent – nearly twice her monthly allowance – thanks to her lavish lifestyle and struggles with substance abuse. “The one way that I was shown how to live was to live in excess, like, live beyond your means,” she said in a 2019 podcast interview, adding that it took her getting sober to realise that she could lose everything.
In 2018, she publicly celebrated her two-year anniversary of sobriety on Instagram.
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She lives in San Diego in a stunning beach house
Despite her early penchant for an extravagant lifestyle, Cobain seems to have got back on track with her financial affairs. She recently bought a fabulous US$2.3 million beach house in the affluent neighbourhood of Point Loma in San Diego, which features a lap pool, outdoor fire pit and a whimsical playhouse, per Dirt.
Although sophisticated, the property is a relatively modest choice considering her sizeable inheritance. She actually downsized from previous houses she had owned in the Hollywood Hills, like a Spanish-style four-bedroom villa with its own recording studio, which she sold for US$2.7 million, according to Architectural Digest.
She wanted mum Courtney Love banned on Twitter
As the lead singer of alt-rock band Hole and star of films like Sid & Nancy, Man on the Moon and The People Vs Larry Flynt, Love is a celeb in her own right. But she has long battled drug addiction and mental health issues, causing her to lose custody of Frances in 2003 and again in 2009.
After Love attacked her daughter online, calling her “deceptive and deluded” for choosing to live with her dad’s side of the family, Frances was granted a restraining order in 2009, barring her mum from contacting her directly or indirectly, Marie Claire reported.
In 2012, Love accused Kurt’s Nirvana bandmate Dave Grohl of being sexually inappropriate towards Frances – then only 19 years old. Frances shot down the comments though, and responded by saying, “Twitter should ban my mother,” per Rolling Stone.
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She has an unusual childhood connection to RuPaul
Cobain has gone on to say that growing up she was raised by “drag nannies”, and even credited RuPaul for influencing her early on, per Vanity Fair, telling the performer, “You are the reason I am the way I am.”
She’s dating skateboarding superstar Tony Hawk’s son
Cobain was married to musician Isaiah Silva from 2014 to 2017, but the relationship infamously ended in a bitter divorce, rife with allegations of guitar theft and even an attempted kidnapping.
Thankfully, it appears she’s moved on! She’s now dating professional skateboarder Riley Hawk, who happens to be the son of skateboarding legend and millionaire entrepreneur Tony Hawk, according to Vanity Fair. She even posted a photo of her hanging with her new beau and his famous dad on a boat.
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She was almost cast as the lead in Twilight
Mum Love told radio personality Howard Stern on his show that Cobain had been approached to play the role of Bella in the Twilight film franchise when she was 13 years old. According to Love, the teenager wasn’t interested in pursuing an acting career, and even went so far as calling Twilight “a sexist, Mormon piece of s***”. Tell us how you really feel, Frances Bean!
- Her parents’ wild lifestyle meant she got a rocky start in life, and even had to get a restraining order against mum Courtney, but credits Drag Race’s RuPaul with making her who she is
- Now happily dating skateboarding superstar Tony Hawk’s son Riley, she lives in a US$2.3 million beach house in California – just don’t ask her about the Twilight films