AceShowbiz - The widow of tragic rock star Chris Cornell has offered up a tribute to the late Soundgarden star to mark what would have been his 55th birthday.

Vicky Cornell posted a black-and-white photo of the singer with two of his children, teenagers Toni and Christopher, on Instagram on Saturday, July 20 and captioned it: "Forever missed, forever loved."

She also included a screenshot of an email Cornell had sent her, which read: "You know I only care about my family. You and my babies. It's hard for me to go to sleep and wake up without you. When it's bumpy and I think about the plane crashing, all I can think about is you three and nothing that separates us seems worth it."

Cornell took his life in a Detroit, Michigan hotel room in May, 2017.

Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson also had Chris on her mind on Saturday, and commented on Vicki's post, writing: "Love is love. Glad Chris was born. He gave so much."

The actress and singer also posted a photo of herself and the Soundgarden star, and added the caption: "Today is @chriscornellofficial's birthday. This man with a voice like no other said 'yes' without hesitation when I asked if he'd sing a duet with me on my first album AM/FM. His voice on the track, ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM, is so gorgeous and silky. His tenderness and soul come through in a fluid warm, wash over you kind of way."

"He didn't need to say he'd sing on the album, but he did. What a gift he gave me. And what a gift he was to all who knew him and listened to him."

Cornell's Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello also celebrated his late pal's birthday with a post on social media.

Revealing his kids have recently discovered Audioslave's music, he recalled: "While rocking out hard to Cochise my oldest stopped and said, 'Dad, it's really sad that Chris Cornell is dead'. I replied, 'That is very true, but let's keep rocking out'. And we did. Happy Birthday, Chris."