Englishman in NY

Guess Which Famous Rocker’s Daughter Has Quentin Crisp On Her Shoulder

The spawn of the late grunge rocker Kurt Cobain and musician-slash-actress Courtney Love is named Frances Bean Cobain. She’s 19 years old and in a black-and-white photo series by Hedi Slimane. Ms. Cobain looks smolderingly goth. And if her torn sleeves, raven curls, and sultry cigarettes don’t bewitch you, her amazing tattoo of eccentric gay writer Quentin Crisp will.

So why would the 19-year-old daughter of Teen Spirit and Doll Parts want The Naked Civil Servant permanently inked onto her shoulder? Um… BECAUSE HE’S A BADASS.

Crisp walked around London in the 1930s in ladies’ clothing with crimson hair, makeup, and nail polish much to the stares and occasional mugging by strangers. During the blackouts in the 1941 blitz on London, he went out into the streets and picked up American soldiers. He worked as a nude model at an art school and an actor. He even had a one-man show around New York City where he just talked about his life and then brightly answered questions submitted by audience members.

After moving to New York, he publicly listed his phone number, always answered the phone with “Yes, Lord?” (“Just in case,” he once said), and regularly accepted dinner invitations from whoever called, regaling them with his stories—”dinner with him was said to be one of the best shows in New York… He said that provided one could exist on peanuts and champagne, one could quite easily live by going to every cocktail party, premiere and first night to which one was invited.”

And that’s just the tip of the crazy, brightly-painted iceberg, my dearies. But for such a free spirit as Courtney and Kurt, is it any wonder their daughter would keep such a wonderfully, weird flame—the French words, “L’art est la solution au Chaos,”—always over her shoulder, there to guide her?

Via The Advocate and Wikipedia

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated