Vicky Karayiannis is an American publicist who was born on August 13 in the United States to her mother Toni Karayiannis. She has a brother named Nicholas Karayiannis who works as an executive of a New York restaurant. Karayiannis went on to become a publicist based out of Paris. She went on to meet Chris Cornell, the singer of the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave and the pair were married in Paris in 2004. They went on to have a daughter named Lilian Jean in 2000 followed by another daughter named Toni in 2004, and a son named Christopher Nicholas in 2005. Her husband's life began to spiral out of control when he became addicted to the drug benzodiazepine which she describes as changing Cornell's behavior. Cornell was found dead on May 17, 2017, in a Detroit hotel. The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a suicide by hanging.
Karayiannis blames the drugs and ultimately her husband's doctor for his death. In November of 2018, Karayiannis began trying to criminally prosecute his doctor. She claims he never should have been given the psychoactive drugs which he was prescribed for a torn shoulder. Karayiannis went on to create the charity organization Chris & Vicky Cornell Foundation after his death to help protect children from abuse.
