Chris Cornell's daughter pays tribute to him with home video

Chris Cornell’s daughter, Toni, paid tribute to her late, great father with an intimate look at their early years.

On Tuesday (July 20), the daughter of the Soundgarden musician took to Instagram on what would have been his 57th birthday to share a post in his honor. "Happy birthday daddy. There are no words to describe how much I miss you and how much I wish you were here with me," the famed daughter, 16, captioned a home video of him singing and playing guitar to her as a child. "Although I had you for a short time, your endless and unconditional love has impacted my life in so many ways, and will live on forever in my heart. You made me who I am, and I am perpetually grateful for everything you have given me. I love you so much."

Meanwhile, Cornell's other daughter, Lily, spoke about mental health with her mother as part of her IGTV series, "Mind Wide Open." "Today marks the one year anniversary of the series, which I launched in honour of my dad on his birthday. I feel so lucky to have been able to create this series and provide a resource for mental health, a topic near to my heart," she captioned the episode. "In this episode, my mom and I are talking about mental health in a parent/child relationship, the intersection of mental health and addiction, and my mom’s life experiences."

As you know, Cornell died in May 2017 in Detroit. The coroner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. Toxicology tests reportedly showed drugs present in his system, including Ativan along with barbiturates, caffeine, the anti-opioid drug naloxone and a decongestant. He was 52.

Back in 2020, Toni argued that her father’s death was "completely preventable" as she launched a campaign to educate people about addiction called Stop Stigma. "My dad never expected life to be perfect," she said. "He came from a family where both of his parents suffered with alcohol use disorder and he was often subjected to an abusive environment. At the age of 14 he started experimenting with different drugs, including PCP, which caused a panic disorder. He didn’t share that with his parents when it happened and for the next two years he suffered from this alone and without support. He explained to us that up until that moment he felt he could do anything and that life was great and full of possibilities. Then all that changed."

This article was first published on iheart.com and is republished here with permission