Courtney Love
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
One of the more polarizing figures in music, Courtney Love was either one of the great heroes or villains of the indie-rock movement. She was born in San Francisco and grew up around Haight-Ashbury; her mother was a psychotherapist and her father a Grateful Dead roadie. Her family moved to New Zealand in 1972; she was expelled from the prestigious Nelson College for Girls soon afterward. By the time she hit twenty Love had worked as a topless dancer, been arrested for shoplifting in Portland OR, cohabitated with songwriter Julian Cope in England, and been deported from Taiwan after working illegally as an exotic dancer. Moving between Portland, Minneapolis and San Francisco, Love studied acting and formed her first band, the Pagan Babies, with respective future Babes in Toyland and L7 members Kat Bjelland and Jennifer Finch. She made her film debut playing a small role in "Sid & Nancy" (1986) after director Alex Cox rejected her for the role of Nancy Spungen; however Cox made her a lead in his next movie, the spaghetti-western pastiche "Straight to Hell" (1987). Moving to Los Angeles in 1988 she formed the first lineup of Hole with guitarist Eric Erlandson. Sonic Youth member Kim Gordon produced their 1991 debut Pretty on the Inside, which was more confrontational and less pop-friendly than what followed. History took its course soon afterward when she went to a Dharma Bums show in Portland and met her future husband Kurt Cobain. The pair became the grunge movement's notorious glamor couple. Love alternately confirmed and denied that she was using heroin while pregnant with their daughter Frances Bean; she did pose semi-naked for Vanity Fair while pregnant with a cigarette that was airbrushed out. Cobain was said to have worked extensively behind the scenes on Hole's sophomore album Live Through This, which was released four days after he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The album was widely praised and sympathy for Love initially ran high, however her behavior on tour became increasingly unhinged with onstage tirades and occasional physical outbursts. During 1995's Lollapalooza tour she had a backstage altercation with Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna; Sinead O'Connor was traumatized enough to quit the tour over it. Love's later career held some genuine triumphs, including Hole's next album Celebrity Skin-- a polished pop album that reveled in the dark side of Hollywood-and her starring role in "The People vs. Larry Flynt" (1996). However her one solo album, America's Sweetheart (2004) was a relative flop; as was 2010's Nobody's Daughter, essentially a solo album credited to a reunited Hole. She saw numerous stints in rehab during the 2000s, and in 2009 lost custody of her daughter for reasons unspecified. She made headlines again in 2018 when Frances Bean's ex-husband Isaiah Silva sued Love and several others, claiming they'd plotted to murder him over his ownership of a Kurt Cobain guitar. Love has continued acting in the 2010s-including James Franco's "The Long Home" (2019)-but has made no music since the 2010 Hole album.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1986
Made film debut in Alex Cox's "Sid and Nancy;" Love had auditioned for the lead but was cast in a smaller role
1987
Was featured in Cox's "Straight to Hell"
1989
Formed rock band Hole
1990
Released first album, <i>Rat Bastard</i>
1994
Husband and Nirvana vocalist Kurt Cobain committed suicide
1995
Was one of the subjects of Barbara Walters' TV special, "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 1995"
1995
Served as executive music coordinator for "Tank Girl"
1996
Appeared in small roles in "Feeling Minnesota" and "Basquiat"
1996
Cast in leading role of Althea Leasure opposite Woody Harrelson in Milos Forman's biopic "The People vs. Larry Flynt"
1998
Featured in the documentary "Kurt & Courtney"
1999
Delivered a comedic turn in the ensemble feature "200 Cigarettes"
1999
Portrayed Lynn Margulies, the girlfriend of comedian Andy Kaufman, opposite Jim Carrey in the Milos Forman-directed biopic "Man on the Moon"
2000
Appeared in the Sundance-screened "Beat"
2000
Forced to drop out of filming "John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars" after injuring her ankle
2001
Co-starred with Lili Taylor in the Sundance-screened "Julie Johnson"
2002
Had starring role in the thriller "Trapped"
2004
Made an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman"; during the show she repeatedly flashed her breasts to Letterman, including standing on his desk, breasts exposed to him, while singing a few bars of "Danny Boy"
2004
Hosted a two-hour weekly radio show on Los Angeles' 103.1 FM, playing favorites from her own music collection
2014
Appeared in a pair of Fall Out Boy music videos
2014
Had a recurring role on "Sons of Anarchy"
2015
Had a two-episode arc on "Empire"
2015
Played White Gold on three episodes of "Revenge"
2017
Played real-life murder victim Kitty Menendez in TV movie "Menendez: Blood Brothers"
Family
Companions
