Looking Back at Kurt Cobain And Courtney Love's Custody Battle Over Frances Bean Cobain
By Favour Adegoke on October 10, 2021 at 10:24 AM EDT
Updated on March 11, 2022 at 1:10 PM EST
There have been many celebrity couples with plenty of drama, but none as dramatic and unforgettable as Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
Popularly described as the "Sid and Nancy of the 90s," the duo met, had a brief whirlwind courtship that lasted four months then got married. By the time they were married, Love was already pregnant with their daughter.
For any newlywed couple, celebrity or not, the birth of a child would be the happiest time and experience, but not for these two. Instead, the birth of their daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, was met with custody battles against their families and the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) after it was revealed during a Vanity Fair interview that Love and Cobain were still heavy drug users.
These custody battles went on even after Cobain's death until Love eventually lost custody in 2009. Read on to learn more about the several custody battles and what eventually happened to Cobain, Love, and Frances Bean.
The Interview That Led To A Visit From A Social Worker
Cobain and Love were always honest about their lifestyle, including their drug use binges. This was also the case with an interview they did with Vanity Fair in 1992.
According to the issue printed by the magazine, a family friend stated that it was appalling that Love was still taking drugs after she became aware of her pregnancy and that the entire family was worried about the baby.
Then in the interview with the couple themselves, Love confirmed her drug use. She said, “We went on a binge. We did a lot of drugs. We got pills, and then we went down to Alphabet City, and Kurt wore a hat, I wore a hat, and we copped some dope. Then we got high and went to SNL. After that, I did heroin for a couple of months.”
After the interview, many family members spoke out against the couple's habits, and there was plenty of public condemnation. This eventually led to the intervention of the DFCS.
The DCFS Tried To Declare Them As Unfit Parents
Shortly after the shocking interview was publicized and several family members and fans criticized her statements and behavior, Love denounced the statements by the magazine and stated that her words were misquoted.
However, it wasn't enough to stop the intervention by the DFCS, and just two days after the birth of Frances Bean; they tried to take custody of her. They were unsuccessful at first, but a few weeks later, Frances was removed from her parents for a short period and eventually returned when the investigation was dismissed.
Over the next two years of her life, Frances would be taken care of by several nannies while her parents continued to battle their drug problems.
Eventually, in March 1994, the nannies took Frances to see her father in rehabilitation, and this is rumored to have been the last time she saw him, as he died not long after by suicide.
Courtney Love Eventually Lost Custody Twice
After Cobain's death, Frances was left in the hands of Love, who struggled to take care of her. She first lost custody in 2003 to DFCS, and temporary care and custody were given to Cobain's mother, Wendy O'Connor.
According to a report by CNN, the cause was Love's arrest for an attempted break-in at the home of an ex-boyfriend, a painkiller overdose and a suicide threat. After a stint in rehab, she regained custody by the end of 2005.
In 2009 again, when Frances Bean was 17 years old, she was put back into the temporary custody of O'Connor for private reasons due to a family matter. The decision was made by a Los Angeles judge who ruled that Frances was better off with O'Connor and Kimberly Cobain, sister to the late Cobain.
Love's attorney at the time, Keith A.Fink told the press that the change in custody was simply because Frances preferred to live with her grandmother, but another member of the family, Charles Fradenburg, spoke differently and said that the late singer's family had been trying to get custody of Frances for some years, as they believed that Love was not fit to take care of her daughter.
Where Is Frances Bean Now?
Many years later, Frances Bean is now 27, the same age her father was when he passed away.
She has grown into a beautiful model and a talented artist who was chosen to be the face of Marc Jacobs' Spring/Summer collection in 2017. True to her heritage, Frances is also an amazing singer.
She was the executive producer for the HBO movie on her fathers’ life, titled "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck." She inherited 37% of his estate when she turned 18 and now controls his image and music rights.
She has also reconciled with Love, who finally went sober.
Despite her difficult and dramatic childhood, many of her fans and fans of her parents believe that Frances has grown up well with her talent and success and that her father would be proud of her.
