Kurt Cobain
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty ImagesKurt Cobain attending the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards at Universal City, CA. in 1993.
His is one of the most famous suicides — and also one of the most tragic.
In the early 1990s, Kurt Cobain was on top of the music world as the lead singer of the hit grunge band Nirvana. But his inner demons and addiction to heroin would cut the bright star’s life short.
Born on Feb. 20, 1967, Cobain was a sensitive and artistic child. A couple of decades later in 1991, Cobain and his band Nirvana had reached superstardom when their second album Nevermind was released.
The album’s lead single “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” started a musical revolution and the band’s grunge sound had become a worldwide phenomenon. Cobain became an international icon, but he struggled against the effects of fame and developed a severe heroin addiction.
Kevin Mazur/Getty ImagesNirvana’s Kurt Cobain.
By early 1994, Cobain had spiraled out of control. His tragic downfall came to a final crescendo on the morning of April 8, 1994.
Cobain had been missing since April 2 and on the morning of the 8th, an electrician who was sent to Cobain’s Seattle property discovered Cobain’s lifeless body in the greenhouse above his garage.
Kurt Cobain died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and had been dead for over two days already. The 20-gauge shotgun that he had used to kill himself was still lying on his chest at the scene of his death.
Seattle Police DepartmentThe suicide note left by Kurt Cobain.
It is believed that Cobain barricaded himself in the greenhouse at his Seattle home, wrote a suicide note and then ended his life. A later medical examination revealed that Cobain had a high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium in his system upon his death, though some theorists nevertheless claim that he was actually murdered.
With his suicide, Cobain joined the infamous 27 Club, an unfortunate group of people who all were tragically taken from the world at the age of 27.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or use their 24/7 Lifeline Crisis Chat.
