On anniversary of Kurt's death, Frances Bean Cobain urges fans to seek help for mental illness

A picture of an infant Frances Bean Cobain with her father Kurt
(Image credit: Frances Bean Cobain (Instagram))

Frances Bean Cobain has remembered her father Kurt on the 29th anniversary of his death and urged people not to suffer from mental illness in silence.

Frances Bean, 30, was just an infant when Nirvana frontman Kurt took his own life on April 5, 1994, at the home he shared with his wife Courtney Love and their baby daughter.

To mark the 29th anniversary of his passing, Frances Bean posted a picture of her with Kurt. She urged people to seek help for mental illness.

She writes: "29 years ago Kurt decided to transfer to a new place. Into the unknown. He left so many questions behind… so many 'ifs'.

"If you or someone you know suffers from a mental illness, such as depression, please call someone, talk to someone. Differences can be made. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."

Courtney Love also marked the anniversary, posting a picture of Kurt's hands that she says was taken by R.E.M frontman Michael Stipe.

Last year it was announced that an opera based on the last days of Kurt's life was being hosted by the Royal Opera House in London.

Last Days is based upon Gus Van Sant’s 2005 film of the same name, which loosely explores Cobain’s last days under the guise of a young musician called Blake. It follows the character as he is “haunted by objects, visitors and memories distracting him from his true purpose – self-destruction”.

In 2020 as the world was in a Covid-19-enfored lockdown, rapper Post Malone performed Nirvana songs in a livestream that included Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. The show raised more than $500,000 for the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Malone asked Frances Bean's permission before covering the Nirvana tracks, and his performance won priase from Courtney Love and former Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl.

If you are feeling suicidal and need support, numbers for local services where you are can be found here.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.