Courtney Michelle Love is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress.
110 Facts About Courtney Love
2.
Courtney Love rose to prominence as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989.
3.
Courtney Love had an itinerant childhood, but was primarily raised in Portland, Oregon, where she played in a series of short-lived bands and was active in the local punk scene.
4.
Courtney Love appeared in supporting roles in the Alex Cox films Sid and Nancy and Straight to Hell before forming the band Hole in Los Angeles with guitarist Eric Erlandson.
5.
In 1995, Courtney Love returned to acting, earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance as Althea Leasure in Milos Forman's The People vs Larry Flynt, which established her as a mainstream actress.
6.
Courtney Love continued to work as an actress into the early 2000s, appearing in big-budget pictures such as Man on the Moon and Trapped, before releasing her first solo album, America's Sweetheart, in 2004.
7.
Between 2014 and 2015, Courtney Love released two solo singles and returned to acting in the network series Sons of Anarchy and Empire.
8.
Courtney Love Michelle Harrison was born July 9,1964, at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, California, the first child of psychotherapist Linda Carroll and Hank Harrison, a publisher and road manager for the Grateful Dead.
9.
Courtney Love's parents met at a party held for Dizzy Gillespie in 1963, and the two married in Reno, Nevada after Carroll discovered she was pregnant.
10.
Courtney Love is of Cuban, English, German, Irish, and Welsh descent.
11.
Courtney Love spent her early years in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, until her parents divorced in 1970.
12.
Courtney Love attended a Montessori school in Eugene, Oregon, where she struggled academically and socially.
13.
In 1972, Courtney Love's mother divorced Rodriguez, remarried to sportswriter David Menely, and moved the family to Nelson, New Zealand.
14.
Courtney Love was enrolled at Nelson College for Girls, but soon expelled for misbehavior.
15.
At age 14, Courtney Love was arrested for shoplifting from a Portland department store and remanded at Hillcrest Correctional Facility, a juvenile hall in Salem, Oregon.
16.
Courtney Love was intermittently placed in foster care throughout late 1979 until becoming legally emancipated in 1980, after which she remained staunchly estranged from her mother.
17.
Shortly after her emancipation, Courtney Love spent two months in Japan working as a topless dancer, but was deported after her passport was confiscated.
18.
Courtney Love returned to Portland and began working at the strip club Mary's Club, adopting the surname Love to conceal her identity; she later adopted Love as her surname.
19.
Courtney Love worked odd jobs, including as a DJ at a gay disco.
20.
Courtney Love said she lacked social skills, and learned them while frequenting gay clubs and spending time with drag queens.
21.
Courtney Love later commented that, had she not found a passion for music, she would have sought a career working with children.
22.
In 1981, Courtney Love was granted a small trust fund that had been left by her maternal grandparents, which she used to travel to Dublin, Ireland, where her biological father was living.
23.
Courtney Love audited courses at Trinity College, studying theology for two semesters.
24.
Courtney Love later received honorary patronage from Trinity's University Philosophical Society in 2010.
25.
Courtney Love traveled to London, where she was met by her friend and future bandmate, Robin Barbur, from Portland.
26.
Courtney Love returned to working abroad as an erotic dancer, briefly in Taiwan, and then at a taxi dance hall in Hong Kong.
27.
Courtney Love used the money to purchase an airfare back to the United States.
28.
At age 19, through her then-boyfriend's mother, film costume designer Bernadene Mann, Courtney Love took a job at Paramount Studios cleaning out the wardrobe department of vintage pieces that had suffered dry rot or other damage.
29.
Courtney Love subsequently returned to Portland, where she formed short-lived musical projects with her friends Ursula Wehr and Robin Barbur.
30.
Courtney Love asked Bjelland to start the band with her as a guitarist, and the two moved to San Francisco in June 1985, where they recruited bassist Jennifer Finch and drummer Janis Tanaka.
31.
Courtney Love lived in my house for a little while.
32.
Courtney Love stayed and stayed, and then the next day she wanted me to take her to the airport.
33.
Courtney Love had just had some weird fight with the guy at the desk, and then she left.
34.
Courtney Love took experimental theater courses in Oakland taught by Whoopi Goldberg.
35.
In 1985, Courtney Love submitted an audition tape for the role of Nancy Spungen in the Sid Vicious biopic Sid and Nancy, and was given a minor supporting role by director Alex Cox.
36.
Courtney Love had a part in the 1988 Ramones music video for "I Wanna Be Sedated", appearing as a bride among dozens of party guests.
37.
Courtney Love named the band Hole after a line from Euripides' Medea and a conversation in which her mother told her that she could not live her life "with a hole running through her".
38.
On July 23,1989, Courtney Love married Leaving Trains vocalist James Moreland in Las Vegas; the marriage was annulled the same year.
39.
Courtney Love later said that Moreland was a transvestite and that they had married "as a joke".
40.
In Hole's formative stages, Courtney Love continued to work at strip clubs in Hollywood, saving money to purchase backline equipment and a touring van, while rehearsing at a Hollywood studio loaned to her by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
41.
In early 1991, Courtney Love sent Gordon a personal letter asking her to produce the record for the band, to which she agreed.
42.
Shortly after completing the tour for Pretty on the Inside, Courtney Love married Cobain on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, on February 24,1992.
43.
Courtney Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by actress Frances Farmer, and Cobain wore plaid pajamas.
44.
Courtney Love was urged by her manager to participate in the cover story.
45.
Courtney Love claimed she was misquoted by Hirschberg, and asserted that she had immediately quit heroin during her first trimester after she discovered she was pregnant.
46.
Courtney Love later said the article had serious implications for her marriage and Cobain's mental state, suggesting it was a factor in his suicide two years later.
47.
Courtney Love performed electric versions of two new Hole songs, "Doll Parts" and "Miss World", both written for their upcoming second album.
48.
Live Through This was released on Geffen's subsidiary label DGC on April 12,1994, one week after Cobain's death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Seattle home he shared with Courtney Love, who was in rehab in Los Angeles at the time.
49.
Cobain's remains were cremated and his ashes divided into portions by Courtney Love, who kept some in a teddy bear and some in an urn.
50.
In January 1995, Courtney Love was arrested in Melbourne for disrupting a Qantas flight after getting into an argument with a stewardess.
51.
On July 4,1995, at the Lollapalooza Festival in George, Washington, Courtney Love threw a lit cigarette at musician Kathleen Hanna before punching her in the face, alleging that Hanna had made a joke about her daughter.
52.
Courtney Love pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was sentenced to anger management classes.
53.
Courtney Love went through rehabilitation and quit using heroin at the insistence of Forman; she was ordered to take multiple urine tests under the supervision of Columbia Pictures while filming, and passed all of them.
54.
Courtney Love attracted media attention in May 1998 after punching journalist Belissa Cohen at a party; the suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
55.
In 1999, Love was awarded an Orville H Gibson award for Best Female Rock Guitarist.
56.
Courtney Love was cast as the lead in John Carpenter's sci-fi horror film Ghosts of Mars, but backed out after injuring her foot.
57.
Courtney Love sued the ex-wife of her then-boyfriend, James Barber, whom Love alleged had caused the injury by running over her foot with her Volvo.
58.
Courtney Love was then cast in the thriller Trapped, alongside Kevin Bacon and Charlize Theron.
59.
In March 2001, Courtney Love began a "punk rock femme supergroup", Bastard, enlisting Schemel, Veruca Salt co-frontwoman Louise Post, and bassist Gina Crosley.
60.
In June 2001, Courtney Love filed a lawsuit to dissolve it, blocking the release of unreleased Nirvana material and delaying the release of the Nirvana compilation With the Lights Out.
61.
Grohl and Novoselic sued Courtney Love, calling her "irrational, mercurial, self-centered, unmanageable, inconsistent and unpredictable".
62.
Courtney Love responded with a letter stating that "Kurt Cobain was Nirvana" and that she and his family were the "rightful heirs" to the Nirvana legacy.
63.
In February 2003, Courtney Love was arrested at Heathrow Airport for disrupting a flight and was banned from Virgin Airlines.
64.
Courtney Love began recording her debut solo album, America's Sweetheart, in France shortly after.
65.
Courtney Love later expressed regret over the record, blaming her drug problems at the time.
66.
On March 17,2004, Courtney Love appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman to promote America's Sweetheart.
67.
Courtney Love's appearance drew media coverage when she lifted her shirt multiple times, flashed Letterman, and stood on his desk.
68.
Courtney Love was released within hours and performed a scheduled concert the following evening at the Bowery Ballroom.
69.
On July 9,2004, her 40th birthday, Courtney Love was arrested for failing to make a court appearance for the March 2004 charges, and taken to Bellevue Hospital, allegedly incoherent, where she was placed on a 72-hour watch.
70.
Courtney Love pleaded guilty in October 2004 to disorderly conduct over the incident in East Village.
71.
One review said that Courtney Love "acted as if she belonged in an institution".
72.
Six days after the broadcast, Courtney Love was sentenced to a 28-day lockdown rehab program for being under the influence of a controlled substance, violating her probation.
73.
In November 2005, after completing the program, Courtney Love was discharged from the rehab center under the provision that she complete further outpatient rehab.
74.
In subsequent interviews, Courtney Love said she had been addicted to substances including prescription drugs, cocaine, and crack cocaine.
75.
Courtney Love said she had been sober since completing rehabilitation in 2007, and cited her Soka Gakkai Buddhist practice as integral to her sobriety.
76.
Courtney Love co-wrote a semi-autobiographical manga, Princess Ai, with Stu Levy, illustrated by Misaho Kujiradou and Ai Yazawa; it was released in three volumes in the United States and Japan between 2004 and 2006.
77.
In 2006, Courtney Love published a memoir, Dirty Blonde, and began recording her second solo album, How Dirty Girls Get Clean, collaborating again with Perry and Billy Corgan.
78.
Courtney Love had written several songs, including an anti-cocaine song titled "Loser Dust", during her time in rehab in 2005.
79.
In March 2009, fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir brought a libel suit against Courtney Love concerning a defamatory post Courtney Love made on her Twitter account, which was eventually settled for $450,000.
80.
Courtney Love responded to Erlandson's comments in a Twitter post, claiming "he's out of his mind, Hole is my band, my name, and my Trademark".
81.
In 2011, Courtney Love participated in Hit So Hard, a documentary chronicling bandmate Schemel's time in Hole.
82.
In May 2012, Courtney Love debuted an art collection at Fred Torres Collaborations in New York titled "And She's Not Even Pretty", which contained over 40 drawings and paintings by Courtney Love composed in ink, colored pencil, pastels, and watercolors.
83.
Courtney Love completed a solo tour of North America in mid-2013, which was purported to be in promotion of an upcoming solo album; however, it was ultimately dubbed a "greatest hits" tour, and featured songs from Courtney Love's and Hole's back catalogue.
84.
Courtney Love told Billboard at the time that she had recorded eight songs in the studio.
85.
Courtney Love was subject of a second landmark libel lawsuit brought against her in January 2014 by her former attorney Rhonda Holmes, who accused Courtney Love of online defamation, seeking $8 million in damages.
86.
Courtney Love was cast in several television series in supporting parts throughout 2014, including the FX series Sons of Anarchy, Revenge, and Lee Daniels' network series Empire in a recurring guest role as Elle Dallas.
87.
The track "Walk Out on Me", featuring Courtney Love, was included on the Empire: Original Soundtrack from Season 1 album, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200.
88.
In January 2015, Courtney Love starred in a New York City stage production, Kansas City Choir Boy, a "pop opera" conceived by and co-starring Todd Almond.
89.
Courtney Love performed as the opening act for Lana Del Rey on her Endless Summer Tour for eight West Coast shows in May and June 2015.
90.
Courtney Love was cast in a supporting role in James Franco's film The Long Home, based on the novel by William Gay, her first film role in over ten years; as of 2022, it remains unreleased.
91.
In January 2016, Love released a clothing line in collaboration with Sophia Amoruso, "Love, Courtney", featuring 18 pieces reflecting her personal style.
92.
Courtney Love starred as Kitty Menendez in Menendez: Blood Brothers, a biopic television film based on the lives of Lyle and Erik Menendez, which premiered on Lifetime in June 2017.
93.
In October 2017, shortly after the Harvey Weinstein scandal made news, a 2005 video of Courtney Love warning young actresses about Weinstein went viral.
94.
In October 2019, Courtney Love relocated from Los Angeles to London.
95.
On November 21,2019, Courtney Love recorded the song "Mother", written and produced by Lawrence Rothman, as part of the soundtrack for the horror film The Turning.
96.
Courtney Love has been candid about her diverse musical influences, the earliest being Patti Smith, The Runaways, and The Pretenders, artists she discovered while in juvenile hall as a young teenager.
97.
The first record Courtney Love owned was Leonard Cohen's Songs of Leonard Cohen, which she obtained from her mother: "He was so lyric-conscious and morbid, and I was a pretty morbid kid", she recalled.
98.
Courtney Love's songs explore the full spectrum of female emotions, from vulnerability to rage.
99.
Courtney Love's vocals have been compared to those of Johnny Rotten, and David Fricke of Rolling Stone described them as "lung-busting" and "a corrosive, lunatic wail".
100.
Courtney Love has played a variety of Fender guitars throughout her career, including a Jaguar and a vintage 1965 Jazzmaster; the latter was purchased by the Hard Rock Cafe and is on display in New York City.
101.
Courtney Love's setup has included Fender tube gear, Matchless, Ampeg, Silvertone and a solid-state 1976 Randall Commander.
102.
In 2000, Courtney Love publicly advocated for reform of the record industry in a personal letter published by Salon.
103.
Courtney Love has frequently collaborated with Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, taking part in the center's "An Evening with Women" events.
104.
Courtney Love participated with Linda Perry for the event in 2012, and performed alongside Aimee Mann and comedian Wanda Sykes.
105.
Courtney Love has contributed to AIDS organizations, partaking in benefits for amfAR and the RED Campaign.
106.
Courtney Love has had an impact on female-fronted alternative acts and performers.
107.
Courtney Love frequently stood on stage, microphone in hand and foot on monitor, and simply let her Fender guitar dangle around her neck.
108.
Courtney Love depended heavily upon her male lead guitar foil Eric Erlandson, but the rest of her band remained exclusively female throughout several lineup changes.
109.
MTV reporter Kurt Loder described Courtney Love as looking like "a debauched rag doll" onstage.
110.
Courtney Love later said she had been influenced by the fashion of Chrissy Amphlett of the Divinyls.