Helen Mirren's Inexplicable Fixation With Grunge's Most Famous Front Man

I would not have pegged Helen Mirren as a Nirvana fan but I should stop being surprised by anything about this spectacular woman. She’s cooler than everyone else you know so of course she has great taste in music. And I bet Kurt would have been flattered by her continued attention, as discussed in this Variety article. However, her fixation with Kurt Cobain reminds me a little of that one friend we all had in college who wore ratty cardigans and couldn’t stop talking about him in the years following his death.

I always say, it’s so sad that Kurt Cobain died when he did, because he never saw GPS,” said Mirren. “GPS is the most wonderful thing, to watch my little blue spot walking down the street. I just find it completely magical and unbelievable.

That’s some high talk right there. I’m not saying that Dame Helen and Harrison Ford sit around listening to In Utero smoking spliffs. But I’m not NOT saying it either.

This isn’t the first time she’s talked about how much Kurt Cobain has missed by checking himself out early, either. She talked about him with Oprah in 2014.

Look at Kurt Cobain — he hardly even saw a computer! The digital stuff that’s going on is so exciting. I’m just so curious about what happens next.

She mentioned him in a Cosmo interview in 2015. And in 2016 she told The Daily Mail:

If I’d died at 27, the age that Kurt Cobain [of rock band Nirvana] died in 1994, I’d never have even known there was an internet! Incredible things are happening all the time and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

For what it’s worth I’m not sure Kurt would have been as psyched about technology as she is. I’m not sure anyone is as excited about technology as she is. But if you’re looking for someone to hang out with, listen to some old Nirvana bootlegs, and talk about all the other things Kurt has missed out on, call me Dame Helen. I’m free.