The daughter of 'Grateful Dead' devotee Hank Harrison and psychologist Linda Carroll Courtney Love spent her early years in hippy communes and at schools in Europe and New Zealand. After receiving a trust fund from her grandmother in 1984, Courtney decided to do a little traveling on her own visiting places such as Ireland, Japan, Taiwan, and Liverpool. Upon returning to the United States, Courtney began singing in music groups in the Bay Area. Soon enough, she caught the attention of movie director Alex Cox, who cast her in the supporting role of Nancy's best friend in the film, Sid & Nancy. The movie did not see much commercial success and Courtney's movie career soon fizzled after another straight-to-video movie entitled Straight To Hell. After this, Courtney moved to Minneapolis where she joined an all-female band called Babes in Toyland. Soon after, she was kicked out of the band. With no money and no job, Courtney tried to become a stripper but none of the local clubs would hire her because was "too fat". So she headed back to LA in 1989 and formed the band Hole. Their debut album called Pretty on the Inside didn't burn up the charts, but it did establish them as viable musicians.
Major record labels took notice of the eccentric Courtney Love and her band, but before she could sign a record deal with any label, she met and married Curt Kobain from the music band Nirvana in late 1992. Courtney instantly went from a potentially successful musician to Kurt Cobain's wife. Rumors about the couple began circulating faster than ever and their reported drug abuse was worthy of media mention, especially since Courtney was pregnant at the time with their daughter, Frances Bean. Child Protective Services began investigating the couple and luckily their daughter was not taken away from them. After only a short period of marriage, Courtney's husband's life began spiraling out of control and his drug abuse (allegedly) led him to suicide with a shotgun blast to the head in 1994. It took a while, but Courtney managed to survive through the ordeal and released her new album only one week after her husband's unfortunate death.
The album was entitled Live Through This and although it received huge commercial success (it went platinum), Courtney was forced to relive her nightmare when the groups bassist, Kristen Pfaff overdosed on heroin. Once again Courtney endured the pain and continued to make a name for herself. She decided to take up acting once again and starred in blockbuster movies such as Feeling Minnesota, The People vs. Larry Flynt and Man on the Moon, starring opposite Jim Carrey. Courtney's love life has not been flailing since her husband's tragic death either. She has been linked to rockers Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Evan Dando of The Lemonheads, actor Edward Norton, and is currently attached to music executive Jim Barber. Courtney Love is continually shocking her fans by throwing concerts dressed like a streetwalker one day and appearing at the Golden Globe's dressed in haute couture the next. Call her what you will, but it's evident that this blonde sensation won't be fading away anytime soon.
