Courtney Love

Courtney Love Michelle Cobain (born July 91965), better known as Courtney Love is an American rock musician, model, and actress, best-known as lead singer for the now-defunct alternative rock band Hole. Love is the widow of Kurt Cobain (1967–1994), lead singer of the band Nirvana. With him she has one daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

Biography

Early life

Courtney love was born Love Michelle Harrison in 1965 in San Francisco, California, the daughter of onetime Grateful Dead manager and publisher Hank Harrison and well-known therapist Linda Carroll (née Risi), and in 1967 had her name changed to Courtney Michelle Harrison. She is thought to have re-added Love to her own name later in life. Love's mother was born to writer Paula Fox but given up for adoption to an Italian American couple who raised the (Jewish-born) daughter Catholic . Love spent her childhood with her mother as she wandered through four husbands and as many hippie communes in Oregon and at boarding school in Nelson, New Zealand. During a child-custody case following her parents' divorce, both Courtney's mother Linda and one of her girlfriends presented letters to the court implying he had given a 4-year-old Courtney LSD. Her father denies this allegation and has passed polygraph tests; however, these allegations led to full custody being awarded to Linda Carroll.

A troubled, angry child, Love was a veteran of reform schools and juvenile halls by the time she was a teenager. She broke away from her family and traveled around the US, United Kingdom and Ireland, living on a trust fund established for her by her mother's adoptive parents. Her first rock musician boyfriend was Rozz Rezabek followed in Liverpool by Julian Cope, the founder of The Teardrop Explodes. In her late teens she worked in Japan as a stripper, a job that she would return to at several points in her life before attaining fame. At age 22 she found herself back in Portland, Oregon, then moved to Los Angeles, California in 1987 along with the band Babes in Toyland. After being fired from the band by founding member Kat Bjelland, she took up in Los Angeles with Leaving Trains. Viewed by some as a social climber, she befriended many musicians who would later become alternative rock icons, among them Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.

Musical career and marriage

Love began her professional music career with a brief stint as the lead singer of Faith No More in the early 1980s. She was kicked out of the band for being overly controlling shortly after. About this time she also played in an all-female pop-rock band called Sugar Baby Doll with Kat Bjelland and Jennifer Finch. None of their Bangles-influenced material has ever been released. Love had more early success as an actress, appearing as the best friend of Nancy Spungen in Alex Cox's Sid Vicious biopic Sid and Nancy in 1986, and in Cox's Straight to Hell in 1987, as well as some small roles on television episodes.

Returning to music in her adopted hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Love claims she co-founded Babes in Toyland with Bjelland, but this is denied by others; acrimony between Love and Bjelland led to Love's quick exit from the band. The band's biographer claims she stole house receipts to a Butthole Surfers concert. In 1991 Love formed her own band, Hole. The band's abrasive debut album sold well for an independent release, and was celebrated in the influential British alternative music press.

Love met her future husband Kurt Cobain at a concert in 1989; they began dating around 1991 and, a few days after the conclusion of Nirvana's Australian tour, on February 24, 1992, Love and Cobain were married on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. On August 18 of that year, the couple's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, was born.

Unpopular with some Nirvana fans (comparisons to Yoko Ono were made early on and persist to this day), Love's image was further tarnished by a 1992 article in Vanity Fair entitled "Strange Love", in which it was alledged that she had continued using heroin in the early stages of pregnancy. As a result, Child Welfare Services briefly investigated the Cobains' fitness as parents, removing Frances Bean from their custody for a short period. Love claims to this day that she was misquoted, saying she had told author Lynn Hirschberg that she had stopped using it once she learned she was pregnant.

Similarly to Axl Rose, she was often ridiculed in the press for her abrasive, sometimes erratic behavior, such as cursing at paparazzi and publicly harassing Cobain's former girlfriend, folksinger Mary Lou Lord.

Shortly before the release of Hole's breakthrough album Live Through This in April 1994, Cobain committed suicide at their home while Love was in Los Angeles promoting the album. Love read his suicide note at a memorial a few days later. Love, clearly crying, interrupted the note frequently to express her anger and sorrow ("Kurt, the worst crime I can think of is for you to just continue being a rock star when you fucking hate it, just fucking stop."), even inciting the crowd to call him an "asshole" for leaving everyone behind. On the audio recording that day you can hear the crowd obey. Finally, Love implored Nirvana fans to not listen to Cobain's infamous final words, "it's better to burn out than fade away".

Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff died of an apparent drug overdose two months later. She was replaced by Melissa Auf Der Maur later that year.

Life after Cobain

Love was a fashion trendsetter. In her early career, she modelled a "kinderwhore" look, which she was accused of having imitated after Kat Bjelland. Love stated that the look was inspired by Christina Amphlett of 1980s rock group The Divinyls, most famously in a lengthy phone message recorded and subsequently released by The Muffs, who had ironically titled their album Blonder and Blonder after a sarcastic quote by Love regarding lead singer Kim Shattuck. Love's style has since evolved, and she has modelled for more sophisticated designer labels.

Love received considerable acclaim for her role as Larry Flynt's wife, Althea, in Milos Forman's 1996 film The People vs. Larry Flynt, opposite Woody Harrelson as Flynt. She was also praised for her supporting role in the 1998 Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon, which starred Jim Carrey as Kaufman. Other notable film credits include Basquiat, 200 Cigarettes, and Feeling Minnesota.

Controversy

Since Cobain's death, conspiracy theories have circulated, alleging that he was in fact murdered at Love's instigation. This theory gained the most media attention with the release of Nick Broomfield's documentary Kurt & Courtney in 1998, which featured interviews with among others, Love's father and private investigator Tom Grant, who said they believed Love ordered her husband murdered, and punk singer El Duce, who claimed that Love offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain.

Love has been a strong critic of the music industry, especially the RIAA. In 2000, she publicly announced her admiration for Napster which, at the time, was being accused of fostering illegal file-sharing. She became known for her criticism of unfair record contracts and mistreatment of artists.

With Hole having fallen into disarray, Love attempted to begin a "punk rock femme supergroup" called Bastard during summer/autumn of 2001, though this project never reached fruition. Hole broke up that year amid continuing litigation. Love in October 2001 performed in some solo shows as an opening act.

File:CourtneyLoveQMagMarch2003.jpg

Cover of the March 2003 edition of Q magazine, in which Courtney Love posed nude

In 2003, Love pleaded not guilty to felony drug charges related to possession of painkillers. In February of 2004, an arrest warrant was issued for Love after she failed to appear at a preliminary hearing; the warrant was subsequently rescinded when she appeared in court on February 18. She released her first solo album, America's Sweetheart, just eight days earlier, on February 10.

Early on the morning of March 192004 Love was arrested in New York City for allegedly throwing a microphone stand and hitting a man on the head. Earlier in the night, she appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and flashed her breasts at Letterman six times.

On her fortieth birthday, July 92004, she missed a scheduled court appearance relating to an attempted break-in at a boyfriend's house and was found in contempt of court. Her attorney later said she missed the appearance due to medical problems; later in the month she appeared in court and was sentenced to an 18-month probation and drug rehabilitation program.

Love recently regained the custody of her daughter after beginning a state-enforced rehabilitation program, although it is still in jeopardy due to a possible drug-related incident which is the subject of current legal action.

According to Neil Strauss's book The Game, at some point before 2005, Courtney Love spent a good amount of time staying at the mansion called "Project Hollywood" where Pick-Up Artists such as the famous "Mystery" resided.

On August 192005, Love admitted using drugs in violation of her probation terms. She was ordered into a 28-day drug treatment program by a judge who initially said "my belief was that you need to go to the county jail." This program was also violated, and on September 21 she was sentenced to 6 months in lock down rehab.

In August 2005, tabloid papers such as News of the World began reporting that Love became pregnant during an affair with British actor and comedian Steve Coogan. Coogan's spokeswoman, alongside Love's publicists, have discredited the story as "nonsense."

Love was cast to star as legendary cowgirl Texas Guinan in the story of her life, called Hello Sucker!. The film was never made.

She is set to release her sophomore solo album, Exile in Blonde, under Virgin Records in 2006.

Manga

When Love lived in Japan, she became a fan of manga. She co-created a series called Princess Ai ('Ai' meaning 'Love'). Princess Ai features the character design of Ai Yazawa. Dialogue for Princess Ai's main character, Ai, is taken from Love's song lyrics.

'Princess Ai: Volume I was released by TOKYOPOP in the United States on July 62004.

Discography

File:CourtneyLove-album-americassweetheart.jpg

Cover of Courtney Love's solo album, America's Sweetheart.

Albums

With Hole

• Pretty on the Inside (1991)
• Live Through This (1994)
• Ask for It (EP) (1995)
• My Body, the Hand Grenade (1997)
• The First Session (EP) (1997)
• Celebrity Skin (1998)

Solo

• America's Sweetheart (2004)
• Exile in Blonde (2006)

Singles

With Hole

• "Dicknail" (1991)
• "Retard Girl" (1991)
• "Teenage Whore" (1991)
• "Beautiful Son" (1993)
• "Miss World" (1994)
• "Doll Parts" (1995)
• "Violet" (1995)
• "Softer, Softest" (1995)
• "Gold Dust Woman" (1996)
• "Celebrity Skin" (1998)
• "Malibu" (1998)
• "Awful" (1999)
• "Be a Man" (2000)

Solo

• "Mono" (2004)
• "Hold on to Me" (2004)

Filmography

• Sid and Nancy (1986)
• Straight to Hell (1987)
• Tapeheads (1988)
• 1991: The Year Punk Broke (1992) (documentary)
• Basquiat (1996)
• Feeling Minnesota (1996)
• The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
• Not Bad for a Girl (1996) (documentary) (also co-producer)
• Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997) (documentary)
• Kurt & Courtney (1998) (documentary)
• 200 Cigarettes (1999)
• Man on the Moon (1999)
• Beat (2000)
• Bounce: Behind the Velvet Rope (2000) (documentary)
• Julie Johnson (2001)
• Last Party 2000 (2001) (documentary)
• Trapped (2002)
• Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003) (documentary)
• (This Is Known as) The Blues Scale (2004) (documentary)
• Lovelace (2007) (currently in production)

External links

• Courtney Love's Official homepage
• Courtney Love All Music Guide Page
• Courtney Love at IMDb
• Criticism of the music industry: "Courtney Love does the math" "an unedited transcript of Courtney Love's speech to the Digital Hollywood online entertainment conference, given in New York on May 16, 2000."