Editing Kurt Cobain (section)

== Personal life ==

=== Relationships and family ===
There are differing accounts of exactly when and how Cobain first met [[Courtney Love]]. In his 1993 authorized biography of Nirvana, [[Michael Azerrad]] cites a January 21, 1989, [[Dharma Bums (band)|Dharma Bums]] gig in [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]] where Nirvana played as support,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrSDPW6G5ZIC&q=michael%20azerrad%20version%20of%20when%20kurt%20met%20cortney&pg=PA169|title=Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana|isbn=9780307833730|last1=Azerrad|first1=Michael|date=January 23, 2013|publisher=Crown }}</ref> while the [[Charles R. Cross]] 2001 Cobain biography has Love and Cobain meeting at the same [[Satyricon nightclub]] venue in Portland but a different Nirvana show, January 12, 1990,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWOLAwAAQBAJ&q=when%20did%20courtney%20meet%20kurt%20-%20heavier%20than%20heaven&pg=PT233|title=Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain|isbn=9781401304515|last1=Cross|first1=Charles R.|date=March 13, 2012|publisher=Hachette Books }}</ref><ref name="cross-2001"/>{{rp|201}} when both still led ardent underground rock bands.<ref name="Love me do">{{cite web|last=Barton|first=Laura|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/dec/11/biography.popandrock|title=Love me do|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 11, 2006|access-date=July 14, 2013|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043445/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/dec/11/biography.popandrock|url-status=live}}</ref> Love made advances soon after they met, but Cobain was evasive. Early in their interactions, Cobain broke off dates and ignored Love's advances because he was unsure if he wanted a relationship. Cobain noted, "I was determined to be a bachelor for a few months [...] But I knew that I liked Courtney so much right away that it was a really hard struggle to stay away from her for so many months."<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|172–173}} [[Everett True]], who was an associate of both Cobain and Love, disputes those versions of events in his 2006 book, claiming that he himself introduced the couple on May 17, 1991.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H89kHhJR4-AC&q=buthole+surfers+gig+may+1991&pg=PT391|title = Nirvana: The True Story|isbn = 9780857120137|last1 = True|first1 = Everett|date = November 4, 2009| publisher=Omnibus Press }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eyv8H4pr76kC&q=when%20did%20nirvana%20support%20the%20dharma%20bums&pg=PT40|title=Nirvana - Uncensored on the Record|publisher=Coda Books |isbn=9781781580059}}</ref>

Cobain was already aware of Love through her role in the 1987 film ''[[Straight to Hell (film)|Straight to Hell]]''. According to True, the pair were formally introduced at an [[L7 (band)|L7]] and [[Butthole Surfers]] concert in Los Angeles in May 1991.<ref name="WednesdayMarch">{{cite web|url=http://planbmag.com/blogs/staff/2006/03/01/wednesday-1-march/|title=Wednesday 1&nbsp;March|author=Everett True|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206065138/http://planbmag.com/blogs/staff/2006/03/01/wednesday-1-march/|archive-date=February 6, 2008|url-status=usurped|access-date=April 6, 2012}} Plan B Magazine Blogs. March 1, 2006.</ref> In the weeks that followed, after learning from Grohl that Cobain shared mutual interests with her, Love began pursuing Cobain. In late 1991, the two were often together and bonded through drug use.<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|172|quote=Courtney Love: "We bonded over pharmaceuticals.}}

On February 24, 1992, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana's "[[Pacific Rim]]" tour, Cobain and Love were married on [[Waikiki Beach]] in Hawaii. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by Frances Farmer, and Cobain donned a Guatemalan purse and wore green pajamas, because he had been "too lazy to put on a tux." Eight people were in attendance at the ceremony, including Grohl, but not Novoselic.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Raul|title=Dave Grohl Was One Of Eight Guests At Kurt Cobain And Courtney Love's Hawaiian Wedding|url=http://www.feelnumb.com/2011/06/20/dave-grohl-was-one-of-eight-guests-at-kurt-cobain-and-courtney-loves-hawaiian-wedding/#lightbox/7/|website=feelnumb|access-date=January 11, 2015|date=June 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150125151422/http://www.feelnumb.com/2011/06/20/dave-grohl-was-one-of-eight-guests-at-kurt-cobain-and-courtney-loves-hawaiian-wedding/#lightbox/7/|archive-date=January 25, 2015}}</ref> Love said she was warned by the [[Sonic Youth]] bassist [[Kim Gordon]] that marrying Cobain would "destroy her life"; Love responded: "'Whatever! I love him, and I want to be with him!' ... It wasn't his fault. He wasn't trying to do that."<ref name="Love me do" />

The couple's daughter, [[Frances Bean Cobain]], was born August 18, 1992.<ref name="You">{{cite news|author1=Brenda You|date=June 18, 1994|title=Heroin Addiction Blamed In Death Of Another Seattle Rock Musician|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/06/18/heroin-addiction-blamed-in-death-of-another-seattle-rock-musician/|url-status=live|access-date=January 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509121953/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-06-18/news/9406180065_1_kristen-pfaff-courtney-love-kurt-cobain|archive-date=May 9, 2015}}</ref> A [[Medical ultrasonography|sonogram]] was included in the artwork for Nirvana's single, "[[Lithium (Nirvana song)|Lithium]]."<ref>{{cite web|author1=Raul|title=Nirvana's Lithium Single Artwork Includes A Sonogram Of Frances Bean Cobain|url=http://www.feelnumb.com/2009/09/28/nirvana-lithium-single-cover-includes-sonogram-of-frances-bean-cobain/|website=feelnumb|access-date=January 11, 2015|date=September 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112143125/http://www.feelnumb.com/2009/09/28/nirvana-lithium-single-cover-includes-sonogram-of-frances-bean-cobain/|archive-date=November 12, 2014}}</ref> In a 1992 ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' article'','' Love admitted to a drug binge with Cobain in the early weeks of her pregnancy.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=September 1, 1992|title=Strange Love: The Story of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/love-story-of-kurt-cobain-courtney-love|access-date=February 23, 2022|magazine=Vanity Fair|language=en-US}}</ref> At the time, she claimed that ''Vanity Fair'' had misquoted her. Love later admitted to using heroin before knowing she was pregnant.<ref name="You" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=January 28, 2015|title=Courtney Love Admits To Using Heroin While Pregnant With Frances Bean|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/courtney-love-heroin-pregnant_n_6565528|access-date=February 23, 2022|website=HuffPost|language=en}}</ref> The couple were asked by the press if Frances was addicted to drugs at birth.<ref name="azerrad" /> The Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services visited the Cobain's days after Love gave birth and later took them to court, stating that their drug usage made them unfit parents.<ref name="azerrad" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Frances Bean Cobain|url=https://www.biography.com/personality/frances-bean-cobain|access-date=February 23, 2022|website=Biography|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 18, 2009|first=Marisa|last=Laudadio|title=Inside Story: Courtney Love and Daughter Frances Bean's Rocky Relationship|url=https://people.com/celebrity/inside-story-courtney-love-and-daughter-frances-beans-rocky-relationship/|access-date=February 23, 2022|website=people.com}}</ref> Frances was removed from her parents' care for a "short period of time"<ref>{{Cite web |title=INSIDE STORY: Courtney Love and Daughter Frances Bean's Rocky Relationship |url=https://people.com/celebrity/inside-story-courtney-love-and-daughter-frances-beans-rocky-relationship/ |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=People.com |language=en}}</ref> in the first few weeks of her life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kennedy |first=Dana |date=2023-11-04 |title=How Frances Cobain triumphed over chaotic childhood for love |url=https://nypost.com/2023/11/04/entertainment/how-frances-cobain-triumphed-over-chaotic-childhood-for-love/ |access-date=2025-01-17 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Sexuality ===
In October 1992, when asked, "Well, are you gay?" by ''[[Monk Magazine]]'', Cobain replied, "If I wasn't attracted to Courtney, I'd be a bisexual."<ref name="Monk Magazine">{{cite news |url=http://www.monk.com/display.php?p=People&id=33 |title=GO FOR THE GRUNGE |first=James |last=Crotty |work=[[Monk Magazine]] |date=October 30, 1992 |access-date=April 29, 2019 |archive-date=October 24, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041024074822/http://www.monk.com/display.php?p=People&id=33 |url-status=live }}</ref> In another interview, he described identifying with the gay community in ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'', stating, "I'm definitely gay in spirit and I probably could be bisexual" and "if I wouldn't have found Courtney, I probably would have carried on with a bisexual lifestyle", but also that he was "more sexually attracted to women".<ref name="Advocate 1993">{{cite news |url=https://kevinallman.typepad.com/ARTICLES/MAGAZINES/Advo-Cobain.pdf |title=The Dark Side of Kurt Cobain |first=Kevin |last=Allman |work=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |issue=622 |pages=35–43 |date=February 9, 1993 |access-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401143937/https://kevinallman.typepad.com/ARTICLES/MAGAZINES/Advo-Cobain.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Advocate 2013">{{cite news |url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/people/2013/10/24/rediscovered-interview-reveals-kurt-cobain-thought-he-was-gay |title=Rediscovered Interview Reveals Kurt Cobain Thought He Was Gay |first=Jase |last=Peeples |work=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |date=October 24, 2013 |access-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401135023/https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/people/2013/10/24/rediscovered-interview-reveals-kurt-cobain-thought-he-was-gay |url-status=live }}</ref> He described himself as being "feminine" in childhood, and often wore dresses and other stereotypically feminine clothing. Some of his song lyrics, as well as phrases he would use to vandalize vehicles and a bank, included "God is gay",<ref name="Advocate 1993"/> "Jesus is gay", "HOMOSEXUAL SEX RULES",<ref name="Advocate 1993"/> and "Everyone is gay". One of his personal journals states, "I am not gay, although I wish I were, just to piss off homophobes."<ref name="Cobain, Kurt 2002" />

Cobain advocated for LGBTQ+ rights, including traveling to Oregon to perform at a benefit opposing the [[1992 Oregon Ballot Measure 9]],<ref name="Advocate 1993" /> and supported local bands with LGBTQ+ members. He reported having felt "different" from the age of seven, and was a frequent target of homophobic bullying in his school due to his having a "gay friend".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/1004185/rare-kurt-cobain-interview-reveals-gay-curious-thoughts-audio/ |title=Rare Kurt Cobain Interview Reveals Gay Curious Thoughts [Audio] |first=Niki |last=Cruz |work=[[Inquisitr]] |date=October 23, 2013 |access-date=April 6, 2019 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401141054/https://www.inquisitr.com/1004185/rare-kurt-cobain-interview-reveals-gay-curious-thoughts-audio/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Cobain was interviewed by two gay magazines, ''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'' and ''The Advocate'';<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://people.ucalgary.ca/~ptrembla/homosexuality-suicide/04-kurt-cobain-god-gay.htm |chapter=The Suicide Of Kurt Cobain: A Victim Of The Binary And Biphobia? |first=Pierre |last=Tremblay |title=The Gay, Lesbian And Bisexual Factor In The Youth Suicide Problem |url=http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/book.htm |year=1994 |access-date=April 6, 2019 |archive-date=July 25, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040725115706/http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/book.htm }}</ref> the 1993 interview with ''The Advocate'' being described as "the only [interview] the band's lead singer says he plans to do for ''[[Incesticide]]''",<ref name="Advocate 1993" /> an album whose [[liner notes]] included a statement decrying [[homophobia]], racism and [[misogyny]]:<ref name="Advocate 1993" />

{{Blockquote |text=If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different color, or women, please do this one favor for us—leave us the fuck alone! Don't come to our shows and don't buy our records. |author=|title=|source=}}

=== Health and addiction ===
At school Cobain was diagnosed with [[attention deficit disorder]] and was prescribed [[Ritalin]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |title=Come As You Are - the nirvana story |date=1993-10-01 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=9780385471992 |language=EN}}</ref> Throughout most of his life, Cobain had chronic [[bronchitis]] and intense physical pain due to an undiagnosed chronic stomach condition.<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|66}} In an interview with [[Jon Savage]] in 1993 he said, "Every time I've had an endoscope, they find a red irritation in my stomach. But it's psychosomatic, it's all from anger. And screaming". He then goes on to mention that he, "had minor scoliosis in junior high".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Live Nirvana {{!}} Interview Archive {{!}} 1993 {{!}} July 22, 1993 - New York, NY, US |url=https://www.livenirvana.com/interviews/9307js/index.php |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=www.livenirvana.com}}</ref> According to ''[[The Telegraph (London)|The Telegraph]]'', Cobain had [[Major depressive disorder|depression]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Matt|last=Haig|title=Kurt Cobain was not a 'tortured genius', he had an illness|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11515605/Kurt-Cobain-was-not-a-tortured-genius-he-had-an-illness.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11515605/Kurt-Cobain-was-not-a-tortured-genius-he-had-an-illness.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|location=London, England|date=April 5, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1993, he told Michael Azerrad that he had [[narcolepsy]] and [[manic depression]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hiatt |first=Brian |date=2023-11-02 |title=He Wrote the First Nirvana Bio. 30 Years Later, He Has a Few Changes |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/nirvana-biography-kurt-cobain-dave-grohl-1234868298/ |access-date=2024-10-18 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> His cousin brought attention to the family history of suicide, mental illness and alcoholism, noting that two of her uncles had died by suicide with guns.<ref>{{cite web|first=Brian|last=Libby|url=http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/cobainqa|title=Even in His Youth|work=AHealthyMe.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202043704/http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/cobainqa|archive-date=February 2, 2007|access-date=April 5, 2012}}</ref>

According to [[Charles R. Cross|Cross]], Cobain suffered a [[mental breakdown]] midway through Nirvana's show in Rome on November 27, 1989. After smashing his guitar, he climbed a 30&nbsp;ft speak stack and shouted, "I'm going to kill myself!".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cross |first=Charles R. |title=Heavier than Heaven |date=2019-03-07 |publisher=Sceptre |isbn=9781473699632 |language=EN}}</ref> Eventually he climbed down and took the following day off, sightseeing with [[Sub Pop]] manager, [[Bruce Pavitt]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pavitt |first=Bruce |title=Experiencing Nirvana - Grunge in europe, 1989 |date=2013 |publisher=2014-04-24 |isbn=9781935950103 |pages=The photo on the front cover is from this sightseeing trip |language=EN}}</ref> Cobain completed the remaining five European tour dates and returned to the USA.

He first drank alcohol in 7th grade (c. 12 yrs)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |title=Come As You Are - The story of nirvana |publisher=Doubleday |date=1993-10-01 |isbn=9780385471992 |language=EN}}</ref> and he often drank to excess throughout his life. His first drug experience was with [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] in 1980, at age 13. He regularly used the drug during adulthood.<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|76}} Cobain also had a period of consuming "notable" amounts of [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]], as observed by Marander,<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|75}} and had been involved in [[solvent abuse]] as a teenager.<ref name="cross-2001" /> Novoselic said he was "really into getting fucked up: drugs, acid, any kind of drug".<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|76}} He occasionally experimented with methamphetamine and cocaine when the band were on tour.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cross |first=Charles |title=Heavier than Heaven |publisher=Sceptre |date=2019-03-07 |isbn=9781473699632}}</ref> One example was when Novoselic and Cobain took cocaine after their gig in New York on July 18, 1989.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |title=Come As You Are - the story of nirvana |publisher=Doubleday |date=1993-10-01 |isbn=9780385471992 |language=EN}}</ref> Cobain first took heroin in 1986, administered to him by a dealer in [[Tacoma, Washington]], who had previously supplied him with [[oxycodone]] and [[aspirin]].<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|41}} Cobain used heroin sporadically for several years; by the end of 1991, his use had developed into [[Substance use disorder|addiction]]. Cobain claimed that he was "determined to get a habit" as a way to self-medicate his stomach condition. "It started with three days in a row of doing heroin and I don't have a stomach pain. That was such a relief," he said.<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|236}} However, his long-time friend [[Buzz Osborne]] disputes this, saying that his stomach pain was more likely caused by his heroin use: "He made it up for sympathy and so he could use it as an excuse to stay loaded. Of course he was vomiting—that's what people on heroin do, they vomit. It's called 'vomiting with a smile on your face'."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/buzz-osborne-the-melvins-talks/ |title=Buzz Osborne (the Melvins) Talks the HBO Documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck &#124; The Talkhouse Music |publisher=Thetalkhouse.com |date=June 6, 2015 |access-date=November 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119080439/http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/buzz-osborne-the-melvins-talks/ |archive-date=November 19, 2015 }}</ref> Cobain told Novoselic in 1990 that he had used heroin and he spoke to Grohl about it in January 1991.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |title=Nirvana: The Amplifications |publisher=HARPER COLLINS |date=2023-10-24 |isbn=9780063279940 |language=EN}}</ref>

Cobain's heroin use began to affect Nirvana's ''Nevermind'' tour. During a 1992 photoshoot with [[Michael Lavine]], before their first ''Saturday Night Live'' performance on January 11, he fell asleep several times, having used heroin beforehand. Cobain told biographer [[Michael Azerrad]]: "They're not going to be able to tell me to stop. So I really didn't care. Obviously to them it was like practicing witchcraft or something. They didn't know anything about it so they thought that any second, I was going to die."<ref name="azerrad" />{{rp|241}}

The morning after the band's performance on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in 1992, Cobain experienced his first near-death [[Drug overdose|overdose]] after injecting heroin; Love resuscitated him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canoe.com:80/JamMusicArtistsN/nirvana.html|title=Legacy|date=April 8, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803123238/http://www.canoe.com/JamMusicArtistsN/nirvana.html|access-date=July 27, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2004}}</ref>

On May 2, 1993 Cobain overdosed at his home in Seattle and Love called the paramedics. He was taken to [[Harborview Medical Center]], but was discharged the same day.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goldberg |first=Danny |title=Serve The Servant |date=2020-04-02 |publisher=Orion |isbn=9781409182801}}</ref>

Prior to a performance at the New Music Seminar in New York City on July 23, 1993, Cobain suffered another overdose. Rather than calling for an ambulance, Love injected Cobain with [[naloxone]] to resuscitate him. Cobain proceeded to perform with Nirvana, giving the public no indication that anything had happened.<ref name="cross-2001" />{{rp|296–297}}

By March 1994, Love had "seen Kurt close to death from heroin overdoses on more than a dozen occasions," according to Cross.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cross |first=Charles |title=Heavier than Heaven: the biography of Kurt Cobain |publisher=Sceptre |date=2019-03-07 |isbn=9781473699632 |pages=Chapter 22 |language=EN}}</ref>