Courtney Love
5655
226150595
2008-07-17T01:26:14Z
119.11.78.104
/* 2005–present */
{{otheruses4|the person|the band of the same name|Courtney Love (band)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|Name = Courtney Love
|Img = Courtney Love on stage.jpg
|Img_capt = Courtney Love on stage in July, [[2007]].
|Background = solo_singer
<!-- Please do NOT change the birth name entry. Although some sources -->
<!-- claim “Love Michelle Harrison”, these sources are unreliable next -->
<!-- to the official California Birth Index -->
|Birth_name = '''Courtney Michelle Harrison'''
|Alias = Courtney Michelle Love,<br /> Courtney Michelle Cobain,<br /> Courtney Love Cobain, <br />Love Michelle Harrison,<br /> Courtney Michelle Menely,<br /> Coco Rodriguez<br />
|Born = {{birth date and age|1964|7|9}}<br />[[San Francisco, California]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|Died =
|Spouse(s) = [[Kurt Cobain]] (died February 1994)
|Children = [[Frances Bean Cobain]] (born August 18 1992)
|Occupation = [[Singer]], [[songwriter]], [[Record producer|music producer]], [[film producer]], [[actress]],
|Instrument = Vocals, [[Guitar]], [[Bass Guitar]],
|Genre = [[Alternative rock]]<br />[[Grunge]]<br />
|Label = [[Sympathy for the Record Industry]]<br />[[Caroline Records|Caroline]]<br />[[DGC Records|DGC]] / [[Geffen Records|Geffen]]<br />[[Universal Music]]<br />[[Virgin Records|Virgin]]<br />[[Custard Records]]
|Associated_acts = [[Hole (band)|Hole]] <br />[[Babes in Toyland (band)|Babes in Toyland]]<br />[[Faith No More]]<br />
| URL = [http://www.courtneylove.com/ CourtneyLove.com]
}}
'''Courtney Michelle Love'''<ref name="name">Although some sources give Love’s birth name as “Love Michelle Harrison”, her listing on the ''[[California Birth Index]]'' from the Center for Health Statistics gives a birth name of “Courtney Michelle Harrison”. Between adoptions from several stepfathers, she has also gone by the names “Courtney Michelle Rodriguez” and “Courtney Michelle Menely”. The name change to “Courtney Michelle Love” happened in early 1990s, in the beginning of her musical career and after the end of her first marriage (of which the legal records still feature the name “Courtney Michelle Menely”). According to the same statistics list above, the birth status of Courtney’s 1992 born daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, already include “Love” as the mother’s maiden surname.</ref> (born '''Courtney Michelle Harrison''' on [[July 9]], [[1964]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[rock musician]] and Golden Globe-nominated actress. Love is best known as lead singer, songwriter and lyricist for the now-defunct [[alternative rock]] band [[Hole (band)|Hole]] and for her two-year marriage to late [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] lead singer/guitarist [[Kurt Cobain]]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' has called Love “the most controversial woman in the history of rock”.<ref>[http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,1969245,00.html Love me do Rock | Guardian Unlimited Music<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Life and career==
===Early life===
Courtney Michelle Harrison was born in [[San Francisco]], [[California]] to a family of [[Irish people|Irish]] and [[Jews|Jewish]] descent.<ref>[http://www.beautyandthedirt.co.uk/show.asp?ID=1340. Courtney Love Part I<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> She regards herself as "a nice Jewish girl".<ref>[http://www.thejc.com/home.aspx?AId=60493&ATypeId=1&search=true2&srchstr=five-eighths&srchtxt=1&srchhead=1&srchauthor=1&srchsandp=1&scsrch=0 Jewish Chronicle 5 June 2008]: "So you see, I’m a nice Jewish girl and I’ve lots of Irish in me." The editorial comment is "Scarily enough, Courtney is a halachic Jew."</ref> Love’s biological family broke up soon after her birth. During a child custody case following Love’s parents’ divorce, both her mother and one of her friends presented letters to the court implying her father had given the child, then three years old, [[LSD]].<ref name = "sldsoi">[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,289728,00.html Courtney Love: The Real Story Book Review | Entertainment Weekly<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Harrison denies this allegation<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article729937.ece Courtney Love’s intimate journals spark legal feud with father—Times Online<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and has passed [[polygraph]] tests; however, these allegations led to full custody being awarded to Love’s mother.
Love then spent a troubled childhood with her mother as she married and divorced three times, and temporarily settled in many [[hippie]] [[commune (intentional community)|communes]] in [[Oregon]], and various schools including [[Nelson College for Girls]] in [[New Zealand]] where she boarded.<ref>Azerrad, Michael. ''Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana''. Doubleday, 1994. ISBN 0-385-47199-8, p. 170</ref> Before arriving in New Zealand, Love had been left in the United States with Shirley, a friend of her mother's, who was a therapist, while her mother, the new husband and her half-sisters settled in New Zealand without her. Shortly after reuniting with her family in New Zealand, Love was sent to the boarding school in Nelson.<ref name = "sldsoi"/>
While in boarding school, Love wrote poetry, joined a [[Bay City Rollers]] fan club, and, at the age of 12 (once back in the U.S., ostensibly), applied to join the [[Mickey Mouse Club]];<ref>Matheson, Whitney. [http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2006/11/books_i_read_on.html “Pop Candy: Books I Read On Vacation”] USA Today, Nov. 27th, 2006. As revealed in her scrapbook, Dirty Blonde, Love was a teenage fan of the Bay City Rollers: “...from the collages of her favorite rockers (in her case, the Bay City Rollers), to scrawled lists of artists and things she yearned to learn more about to pages of poems and daydreams...”</ref> she was rejected after reading a poem by [[Sylvia Plath]] at the audition.<ref>Rockland, Kate. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/fashion/05nite.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/L/Love,%20Courtney “Don’t Call It a Comeback (Yet)”], New York Times, Nov. 5th, 2006: “The book offers several gems; one is a 1976 rejection letter from the Mickey Mouse Club. ‘I read Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy,”’ Love says, ‘grinning widely.’”</ref>
At 16, Love [[emancipation|emancipated]] herself from her family and traveled around the U.S., [[England]] and the [[Republic of Ireland]], living on a [[trust (law)|trust fund]] established for her by her mother’s adoptive parents.<ref>Iley, Chrissy. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article604615.ece “Courting disaster”] Times Online, OCt, 22nd, 2006. “‘I talked one of my mother’s gurus, of which she had many, into letting me live with him. He got $3,000 a month from my trust fund, which he’d spend on boys, and I went to the junior high, where my friends were teenage prostitutes. They were so glamorous, I just wanted to hang out with them. Melissa, Melinda and Melody. I ended up going through the juvenile system with them because I got arrested shoplifting a Kiss T-shirt.’ She was 13.”</ref> During her time in England, Love met, befriended, and moved into the [[Toxteth]], [[Liverpool]], home of musician [[Julian Cope]] of [[The Teardrop Explodes]], and became a regular face at rock shows. In his autobiography ''Head-On'', Cope doesn’t use her name, but refers to her as “the adolescent”.<ref>{{cite book | last = Cope | first = Julian | authorlink = Julian Cope| title=Head-On/Repossessed | publisher=[[Thorsons]] Publishers | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-7225-3882-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.headheritage.co.uk/drude/qa/misc.php | title=Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage: Drudical Q&A Miscellaneous | accessdate=2007-09-21 | author=Cope, Julian | publisher=HeadHeritage.co.uk}}</ref>
Eventually, she headed back to the United States, ending up in [[Portland, Oregon]], still avidly pursuing music. Love supported herself by working as a stripper.<ref>Barton, Laura. [http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,1969245,00.html “Love me do”], Guardian Unlimited, Dec. 11th, 2006: “She’s been a stripper...”</ref> Love’s first rock-musician boyfriend was [[Rozz Rezabek]] of the Portland band Theatre of Sheep, who had an affair with her while she was still underage. Though the two wrote each other copious love letters, Love has said in many interviews that he did not take her [[virginity]]; she claims her first sexual encounter was a [[one-night stand]] with [[Michael Mooney]], a guitarist for [[Echo & the Bunnymen]] and later with Julian Cope and [[Spiritualized]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.moonwashedrose.com/media/94febmm.html | title=MM: Hole 2.19.94 | publisher=''Melody Maker'' | date=1994-02-19}}</ref><!-- convert to magazine ref -->
===Early musical career===
Love began her professional music career with a brief stint as the lead singer of [[Faith No More]]. Keyboardist [[Roddy Bottum]] described the band at the time as “democratic”, saying that Love’s dominating personality did not fit in. The two artists have remained friends, working together recently in 2005 on a track for the film ''[[Adam & Steve]]''.
At age 22, Love moved back to Portland, then on to Los Angeles in 1987 with fellow musician [[Kat Bjelland]], beginning a period in which Love would form bands with Bjelland only to be ousted by her from each. The pair first formed a band in L. A. with [[Jennifer Finch]] called Sugar Baby Doll (alternately Sugar Babylon).<ref>Interview with Kat Bjelland. Edited by Liz Evans. ''Women, Sex and Rock’N’Roll: In Their Own Words''. Rivers Orum Press/Pandora List, 1994.</ref> During this time Love and Bjelland began to dress alike, wearing dirty [[Babydoll]] dresses, plastic girl’s hair clips, ripped stockings and overdone, often smeared makeup. An argument between the two raged over who had come up with their signature style, later dubbed [[Kinderwhore]]. Love claimed that she took the style from [[Christina Amphlett]] of 1980s [[Australian]] rock group, [[Divinyls]], in an interview in the [[Los Angeles]] [[fanzine]] ''[[Ben Is Dead]]''.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/19980209214657/http://benisdead.com Ben Is Dead]</ref>
Love and Bjelland later formed a band called [[Pagan Babies (band)|The Pagan Babies]] in San Francisco, with Deidre Schletter on drums and [[Janis Tanaka]] on bass.<ref>[http://www.katbjelland.com/paganbabies/indexpaganbabies.html Pagan Babies]</ref> The band recorded a demo of four tracks, then ejected Love and renamed themselves Italian Whorenuns. Lastly, in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], Bjelland started what ultimately would become her longest-running band, [[Babes in Toyland (band)|Babes in Toyland]]. Love briefly played bass, but was kicked out of this group as well.<ref>[http://arts.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/babes-toyland-biography Babes in Toyland Biography]</ref> Love had more early success as an actress, appearing as Gretchen, a friend of [[Nancy Spungen]] in [[Alex Cox]]’s [[Sid Vicious]] biopic ''[[Sid and Nancy]]'' in 1986, and in Cox’s spaghetti-western, ''[[Straight to Hell (film)|Straight to Hell]]'' in 1987, as well as some small roles on television episodes.
In 1989, Love taught herself to play guitar and set out to form her own band. To do so, she placed an ad in an issue of ''[[Flipside (fanzine)|Flipside]]'', to which [[Eric Erlandson]] replied. Love and Erlandson co-founded Hole and are the only two members to remain constant throughout the band’s history. The group made their first gig in November 1989, after three months of rehearsal, and quickly started releasing singles on the [[Long Beach, California]], independent label [[Sympathy for the Record Industry]]. The band’s debut album ''[[Pretty on the Inside]]'' was released in early 1991 on [[Caroline Records (U.S.)|Caroline Records]] and was produced by [[Sonic Youth]]’s [[Kim Gordon]] and Don Fleming of the band [[Gumball]]. It sold well for an independent release and received ecstatic reviews in the influential British alternative music press.<ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/hi/barbiesdead/holeisaband.html Hole is a Band; Courtney Love is a Soap Opera]</ref> During this period, she befriended many influential figures in the alternative rock scene, including [[Michael Stipe]] of [[R.E.M. (band)|R.E.M.]] and [[Billy Corgan]] of [[The Smashing Pumpkins]] (whom she briefly dated).<ref>[http://www.nyrock.com/features/courtneylove.htm Courtney Love: The Life of Love (NY Rock Book Review)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
===Marriage===
Love met [[Kurt Cobain]] on [[January 12]], [[1990]], in Portland, Oregon’s Satyricon club<ref>“Heavier Than Heaven,” page 201, biography by Charles R. Cross</ref> before fame hit, when the two singers still led underground rock bands.<ref>Barton, Laura. [http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,1969245,00.html “Love me do”], Guardian Unlimited, Dec. 11th, 2006: “They met in 1989 at an L7 concert, when they were both fledgling musicians with burgeoning drug addictions...”</ref> Love made advances afterwards, but Cobain was evasive. Early in their courtship Cobain broke off dates and ignored Love’s advances because he wasn’t sure he wanted to consummate their relationship. Cobain noted, “I was determined to be a bachelor for a few months [...] But I knew that I liked Courtney so much right away that it was a really hard struggle to stay away from her for so many months.”<ref>Azerrad, p. 172–173</ref>
Love lived a block away from the Los Angeles apartment complex where the band resided during the recording of their second album, ''[[Nevermind]]''. Love would stop by often, later saying, “We bonded over [[pharmaceuticals]].”<ref>Azerrad, p. 172</ref> After two weeks of dating they began having sex, Cobain later said that they had sex almost three times a day. They would hook up again in May 1991 at a [[Butthole Surfers]] concert. In November 1991, when Love and Nirvana both happened to be touring Europe at the same time, they hooked up for good.
Love and Cobain were married on [[Waikiki Beach]] in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]], on [[February 24]], [[1992]]. Love wore a satin and lace dress once owned by the actress Frances Farmer, and Cobain wore green pyjamas, because he’d been “too lazy to put on a tux”. Six months later, on [[August 18]] of that year, the couple’s daughter, [[Frances Bean Cobain]], was born.
On [[April 8]], [[1994]], four days before the release of Hole’s album ''[[Live Through This]]'', Kurt Cobain’s body was found in his [[Seattle, Washington]] home, killed by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to his head. Two days later, mourning fans assembled at a memorial service in Seattle. During the memorial, a recording was played of Love reading from Cobain’s suicide note, as she felt portions were addressed to his fans. In the message, Love interrupted the note frequently to express her anger and extreme sorrow, telling Cobain that, if he hated it so much, he should just “quit being a rock star”. At one point, Love asks everyone at the memorial to call Cobain an “asshole”; on the recording from that day, one can hear the crowd obey. Finally, Love implored Nirvana fans not to listen to Cobain’s final words, “it’s better to burn out than fade away,” a lyric taken from [[Neil Young]]’s “[[Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)|My My, Hey Hey]]”. Conspiracy theories notwithstanding, the Seattle police would close Cobain’s case as a suicide.
===''Live Through This'' tour (1994)===
The band was struck by disaster again when bassist [[Kristen Pfaff]] died of an apparent heroin overdose on [[June 16]], [[1994]], just two months after Cobain’s death and the new album’s release.<ref>[http://bah.bfn.org/a/forestL/pfaff/index.html History of Women in Forest Lawn Lawn Cemetery: Kristen Pfaff]</ref> A few months later, Love told [[MTV]]’s [[Kurt Loder]], “You know ... people go back to work. This is what I do. I gotta make a living.” Hole recruited 22-year-old bassist [[Melissa Auf der Maur]] (on Corgan’s recommendation) to fill in for Pfaff, and took Hole on the road, appearing at the [[Reading Festival]] in England. The band’s performance was written up by broadcaster [[John Peel]] in ''[[The Guardian]]'':
{{cquote|Courtney’s first appearance backstage certainly caught the attention. Swaying wildly and with lipstick smeared on her face, hands and, I think, her back, as well as on the collar of her dress, the singer would have drawn whistles of astonishment in Bedlam. After a brief word with supporters at the foot of the stage, she reeled away, knocking over a wastebin, and disappeared. Minutes later she was onstage giving a performance which verged on the heroic...Love steered her band through a set which dared you to pity either her recent history or that of the band...the band teetered on the edge of chaos, generating a tension which I cannot remember having felt before from any stage.<ref>''London Guardian'', [[August 30]], [[1994]]</ref>}}
Meanwhile, ''Live Through This'' was a commercial and critical success. ''Rolling Stone'', ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' and the ''[[Village Voice]]'' all declared it “Album of the Year”, and by November the record was certified [[gold record|gold]]. By April 1995, it went [[platinum record|platinum]]. Hole next embarked on a tour opening for [[Nine Inch Nails]].<ref>[http://www.9inchnails.com/database/h/ Nine Inch Nails Database: H]</ref>
===''Celebrity Skin'' era (1996–2000)===
Love received considerable acclaim for her role as [[Larry Flynt]]’s wife, Althea, in [[Miloš Forman]]’s 1996 film ''[[The People vs. Larry Flynt]]'', opposite [[Woody Harrelson]] as Flynt. She received a [[Golden Globe]] nomination for Best Actress in a Drama and a New York Film Critics Circle Award for best supporting actress. During this time she met and began dating [[Edward Norton]], a relationship which after four years would become her longest yet. The two were engaged, but ultimately broke up.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article630036.ece |title=Love, actually |accessdate=2007-12-16 |last=Moran |first=Caitlin |date=2006-11-09 |work=Times Online}}[]</ref>
In 1998, Hole released ''[[Celebrity Skin]]''. ''Rolling Stone'' gave the album four out of a possible five stars, saying “the album teems with sonic knockouts that make you see all sorts of stars. It’s accessible, fiery and intimate—often at the same time. Here is a basic guitar record that’s anything but basic.”<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/hole/albums/album/227169/rid/5942887/?rnd=1144451215796&has-player=true&version=6.0.8.1024 James Hunter reviews Celebrity Skin]</ref> ''Celebrity Skin'' went on to go multi-platinum, and topped “Best of Year” lists at ''Spin'', the ''Village Voice'', and other periodicals.<ref>[http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/A1048.htm Entry for Celebrity Skin at Acclaimed Music]</ref> Erlandson was still the lead guitarist, and now there were Melissa Auf der Maur’s backup vocals and bass, but drummer [[Patty Schemel]] was replaced by a session drummer during the recording.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}
Around this time, Love created with [[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender’s]] low-price sub-brand [[Squier]] her personal line of guitars, [[Squier Venus|Vista Venus]]<ref>[http://drownsoda.free.fr/vistavenus.htm Drown Soda: Fender Squier Vista Venus]</ref> (as Cobain did in 1994, doing the design of his [[Fender Jag-Stang]]). The instrument featured a shape inspired by Mercury, [[Fender Stratocaster|Stratocaster]] and [[Rickenbacker]]’s solidbodies and had a single-coil and a humbucker pickup. In an early 1999 interview, Love said about the Venus: “I wanted a guitar that sounded really warm and pop, but which required just one box to go dirty (...) And something that could also be your first band guitar. I didn’t want it all teched out. I wanted it real simple, with just one pickup switch. Because I think that cultural revolutions are in the hands of guitar players”. She also declared, “my Venus is better than the Jag-Stang”.<ref>[http://www.geocities.com/erictribute/gw199.html Hole Tones: The Secrets Of Celebrity Skin’s Smooth Sound]</ref> The Squier Vista Venus model is currently discontinued, as is the Jag-Stang as of 2006.
Hole toured Australia in 1999 to support the album, then hit the U.S. on an ultimately failed co-headlining tour with [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]]. The two bands often mocked each other on stage.<ref>[http://www.chartattack.com/road/reviews/1999/19990302-hole.html Hole / Marilyn Manson—Live Review]</ref> Hole eventually dropped off the tour, citing their obligation to pay 50% of Manson’s staging costs as a major reason. The singers of both bands told MTV there was no personal animosity, and they were happy to end the tour. Hole finished off the year’s dates with [[Imperial Teen]] opening.<ref name="MTV.com">''MTV.com'': “[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430051/19990322/hole.jhtml / MTV news March 22, 1999]”. URL accessed [[June 18]], [[2007]].</ref>
In May 2000, Love spoke in New York at the [[Digital Hollywood]] online entertainment conference, giving a speech criticizing the major American record labels. The speech was then reproduced on the news site ''[[Salon.com]]'',<ref name=doesmath>“[http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/ 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]].”</ref> and was, at the time, their most popular article to date.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} In the speech, Love accused the major labels of devising a corrupt system of recording contracts to make the labels millions, while the band itself “may as well be working at a [[7-Eleven]].”
With Hole fallen into disarray, Love attempted to begin a “punk rock femme [[Supergroup (music)|supergroup]]” called Bastard during summer/autumn of 2001, enlisting Schemel, [[Veruca Salt (band)|Veruca Salt]] frontwoman [[Louise Post]], and bassist Gina Crosley, whom Post recommended. Though a demo was completed, the project never reached fruition: conflicts between Love and Crosley, then between Love and replacement bassist Corey Parks from [[Nashville Pussy]], reportedly led to the group’s demise.<ref>[http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/1018 Sort The ‘Bastard’ Out]</ref><ref>[http://www.juicemagazine.com/COREYPARKS.html COREY PARKS]</ref> On May 24, 2002, Hole announced their breakup amid continuing litigation with [[Universal Music Group]].
===Health, Drug Abuse and Legal Issues===
In 1992, while unknowing carrying [[Kurt Cobain]]’s child, Love admitted to taking heroin, and other drugs. This led to media questioning her on whether Frances was born addicted to drugs. Several specialists deemed the pair unsuitable parents, and a legal battle was initiated, in which Cobain and Love both fought for custody of their daughter. After several months on the legal warpath, both were granted full custody of Frances.
Since 1996, Love has faced numerous legal disputes, trials and jail terms.
On October 2, 2003, Love was arrested in Los Angeles while breaking several windows to enter her then-boyfriend, manager and producer Jim Barber’s home. Barber did not press charges (Love says she had paid for the home), but the police charged her with being under the influence of a controlled substance.<ref>[http://www.moonwashedrose.com/media/reuters100303.html Rocker Courtney Love Arrested, Hospitalized in LA]</ref> Released on bail, just four hours later Love was rushed to a hospital to be treated for an accidental overdose of Oxycontin.<ref>Donegan, Lawrence. ''Sunday Magazine'': “LIVE THROUGH THIS”. December 2003. http://www.moonwashedrose.com/media/sundaymag03.html</ref> Eight days later, on October 10, Frances Bean was taken by the L. A. County Department of Children and Family Services and placed with Wendy O’Connor, Cobain’s mother.<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1485823/20040318/love_courtney.jhtml Courtney Love Arrested After Allegedly Striking Fan With Mic Stand]</ref>
Authorities then ordered a 72-hour hospital evaluation of Love’s health, but she walked from the facility, claiming she was ready to head directly to rehab. When Love didn’t attend, her lawyer issued a statement that they may move to have the police department’s [[toxicology]] reports re-examined. In public appearances, Love protested her arrest, denying all charges, describing the drugs found on her as “one expired [[Percocet]] and one [[Ambien]]”. The police report, however, alleged possession of [[Oxycontin]] and [[Hydrocodone]] without prescription.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3523406.stm Rock star Love arrested aftergig]</ref>
In 2003, Love pleaded not guilty to felony drug charges related to possession of [[painkiller]]s. In February 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. The album was a commercial flop and received a mixed reaction from critics. ''Spin'' called it a “jawdropping act of artistic will”, while ''Rolling Stone'' proclaimed that, “for people who enjoy watching celebrities fall apart, ''America’s Sweetheart'' should be more fun than an [[The Osbournes|Osbournes]] marathon.” The record was re-recorded and finished while Love was either fresh from or still undergoing drug rehab, and in its first three months the album sold about 86,000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,120430,00.html FOX News—Did Virgin Records Use Her?]</ref>
During this same period, an estimated $20 million of money belonging to Love and her daughter was apparently siphoned off in a case that is still being investigated by the [[FBI]].<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article630036.ece The Times Online]</ref> “It was my hell time. I was doing cocaine and had incredible financial trouble. $20 million was stolen from us and at the time I couldn’t do the math very well. So I took this drug to help me. It turned out the crazy math was real. The FBI looked at the paperwork and saw $1.2 million to the UK, $180,000 to Nice. It was the former boyfriend and the two assistants. They had power of attorney and they purchased property. They started in about 2000 without me knowing and I got more out of it. I think they thought she will die. In fact I should not be alive after what I went through in the [Letterman] Period.”<ref>[http://www.beautyandthedirt.co.uk/show.asp?ID=1341 Courtney Love Part II<!-- Bot generated title -->]. beautyandthedirt.co.uk</ref>
In January 2005, Love regained the custody of her daughter, who she had lost custody of in October 2003, after completing a state-enforced rehabilitation program and enduring a probational period. Child welfare authorities alluded to drug addiction when responding to the press on the matter, although they didn’t comment directly.<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1479849/10212003/love_courtney.jhtml Courtney Love Fighting For Custody Of Daughter Frances Bean]</ref><ref>[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1495857/20050113/story.jhtml Courtney Love Regains Custody Of Frances Bean Cobain]</ref>
On [[August 19]], [[2005]], Love admitted using drugs in violation of her probation. 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 six months in lock down rehab.<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1507991/20050819/love_courtney.jhtml?headlines=true Teary-Eyed Courtney Love Ordered Back To Rehab By Judge]</ref>
Love was released from house arrest on [[February 3]], [[2006]], and issued the following statement: “I would just like to thank the court for allowing me these 90 days... [It] helped me deal with a very gnarly drug problem, which is behind me... I’ve just been playing guitar and taking care of my daughter. I want to [take this opportunity] to let the community know I’m doing great... I’ve been really inspired and have remained inspired.”<ref name="readytorock">[http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/courtneylove/articles/story/9232396/courtney_is_cleared_ready_to_rock Courtney Is Cleared, Ready To Rock]</ref> On July 2, 2007 she traveled to Europe with her band.
Pictures emerged of an emaciated Love emerged in August 2007, raising public concern for her diet and health. Love claimed she "had to take care of my eating disorder."<ref> [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-472303/Skeletal-Courtney-Love-takes-dieting-extreme.html "Skeletal Courtney Love takes dieting to extreme," ''Daily Mail''] Aug. 1, 2007</ref> When more photos of Love appearing to be in ill-health emerged in [[June]] [[2008]]<ref> [http://x17online.com/celebrities/courtney_love/courtney_love_lets_it_all_hang_out-06202008.php "Courtney Love Lets It All Hang Out," ''x17online.com''] June 20, 2008</ref>, a U.S. website wrote an "Open Letter to Courtney Love," pleading with the mother of Frances Bean to "wake up."<ref> [http://www.momlogic.com/2008/06/momlogics_message_for_courtney.php "Open Letter to Courtney Love," ''momlogic.com''] June 28, 2008</ref> Love admitted being suicidal following the theft of Kurt Cobain's ashes in her possession.<ref> [http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2283380,00.html "Kurt Cobain's ashes stolen," ''Guardian UK''] June 28, 2008</ref>
=== ''America’s Sweetheart'' (2001–2004)===
In early 2004, just as she had completed her first batch of songs, Love contacted ex-Hole drummer Samantha Maloney asking her to fly to France (after drummer Patty Schemel departed for the second time) and add drums to Love’s otherwise complete solo debut, ''America’s Sweetheart''. Returning to the States, Maloney was put in charge of assembling Love’s live band. After a world wide search and countless auditions Maloney reconnected with guitarist [[Radio Sloan]], found guitarist [[Lisa Leveridge]], [[bassist]] Dvin Kirakosian,<ref>[http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Dvin_L._Kirakosian Dvin L. Kirakosian - Armeniapedia.org<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and the four women formed the core of Love’s backing band. Violinist [[Emilie Autumn]] later joined the band.<ref>[http://music.ign.com/articles/555/555116p1.html IGN: Courtney Love & The Chelsea Tour<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> After playing with the band for only a few weeks Love decided to call her new band “The Chelsea” after Maloney’s previous endeavour.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}
===2005–present===
{{Copyedit|date=June 2008}}
{{seealso|Nobody's Daughter|Dirty Blonde}}
In June 2005, three months after being released from court-ordered drug rehabilitation, Love started recording her second solo LP, titled ''[[Nobody's Daughter]]''.<ref name="nobodysdaughter">[http://www.spinner.com/2007/04/18/courtney-love-is-nobodys-daughter Courtney Love Is ‘Nobody’s Daughter’]</ref> She began writing the new material during rehab. Song titles include “My Bedroom Walls”, “Pacific Coast Highway”, “Sunset Marquis”, and an anti-[[cocaine]] song named “Loser Dust”, among others.<ref name="readytorock"/> Former [[4 Non Blondes]] singer [[Linda Perry]] is producing the record. Billy Corgan has also assisted Love in writing and recording some tracks. A documentary about the making of the record, entitled ''The Return of Courtney Love'', was filmed, written and produced by Will Yapp and aired on British TV network [[More4]] on September 27, which resulted in leaking of sound clips of some of the songs off of ''Nobody’s Daughter''. The first entire song to be available for downloading was “Never Go Hungry Again”, recorded in a rough acoustic version during an interview for ''[[The Times]]'' in November.<ref>[http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,27052,00.html TheTimes.co.uk: Podcasts]</ref> Audio clips from the recording of the song “Samantha” also were made available on Internet in May 2007, through an interview to [[NPR.org]], though not in its entirety.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10189167 Rebuilding Courtney Love, One Song at a Time]</ref>
Love’s new band consists of:<br />
*Patricia “Pato” Vidal (Bass)<ref>[http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2205875 Drowned in Sound—Reviews—Live—Courtney Love<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*Liam Angelick (Guitar, and can also be seen in the A/W 07 [[Burberry]] Campaign shot by [[Mario Testino]]{{Fact|date=December 2007}})
*Schoo Fisher (Drums, formerly of Ozric Tentacles)<ref name = "cqjfeu">[http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=18761737 Vidéos MySpaceTV : Courtney Love's new band par Courtney Love<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*[[Micko Larkin]] (Guitar, formerly of [[Larrikin Love]])<ref>[http://www.nme.com/news/courtney-love/29595 Courtney Love plays surprise birthday show News | NME.COM<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*Bethia Beadman (Keyboards and Background Vocals)<ref name = "cqjfeu"/>
Love has released a memoir/diary collection book, ''[[Dirty Blonde]]'', in October 2006, and her second solo album is slated for release sometime in 2008.<ref>[http://www.moonwashedrose.com/media/cloveinterview9-06.html Blood On The Tracks — Moonwashedrose’s September 2006 Interview with Courtney Love]</ref> She also collaborated with DJ Milky and [[Ai Yazawa]] to make the manga [[Princess Ai]]. On [[June 1]], [[2007]], Love made her stage comeback in a not-so-secret gig, by the end of a [[Linda Perry]] show at House of Blues in Los Angeles. With Perry and the producer’s backup band, she performed the songs “Nobody’s Daughter”, “Sunset Marquis”, “Pacific Coast Highway” and “Letter to God”. On [[July 23]], [[2007]], Love added the first song to her MySpace page, titled “Dirty Girls”, followed by a piano and vocal only demo of “Sunset Marquis”. Also in 2006, she reportedly sold 25% of Nirvana’s catalog for fifty million dollars. Love claims that twenty million dollars was embezzled from her by members of her entourage leaving her on the verge of applying for food stamps.<ref>[http://www.usmagazine.com/courtney_love_i_was_nearly_on_food_stamps Usmagazine.com Courtney Love: I Was Nearly On Food Stamps<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/love%20loses%20multi-million%20dollar%20fortune_1013179 Courtney Love—Love Loses Multi-Million Dollar Fortune<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
In recent interviews [[Christopher Scott]], a noted [[art]] and fashion Photographer, has referred to Love as one of his [[muse]]s.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Also, she has worked with photographer [[David LaChapelle]], appearing on the cover of his book 'Heaven to Hell' depicting the [[pieta]]. Love announced in April 2007 that “I’m going to have a Christie’s auction,” to hock the bulk of late husband Kurt Cobain’s belongings with a portion going to charity.<ref>[http://www.spinner.com/2007/04/30/courtney-plans-to-sell-kurts-stuff/ Courtney Plans to Sell Kurt's Stuff - Spinner.com]</ref>
In [[October 2007]] it was announced that Love will be [[executive producer]] for the upcoming [[Universal Pictures]] film version of ''[[Heavier Than Heaven]]'', a biography by [[Charles R. Cross]] detailing her late husband’s life.
Love has been rumored recently as being a member of the [[Church of Scientology]], although she states she believes in [[Buddhism]].
Love currently lives in Los Angeles with her daughter.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} She also has an official [[MySpace]] page and [[blog]]s at her official website.
===Family history===
Love’s mother Linda Carroll was adopted by an [[Italian-American]] couple at birth, retaining no contact with her birth father or her birth mother, whom she later discovered was the well-known children’s writer [[Paula Fox]] (herself also adopted). Carroll penned an autobiography titled ''Her Mother’s Daughter'', released in 2006, about her relationship with both adoptive mother and elder daughter.<ref>[http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/biography/story/0,,1779542,00.html The Guardian: Sins of the mothers]</ref>
Conflicting news stories began to appear in August 2003 regarding Love’s family tree, some of them remarking that Love’s mother had taken [[DNA]] tests, and that the results proved that Carroll’s father was actor [[Marlon Brando]]. The news reports implied this disclosure would appear in Carroll’s then-forthcoming memoir. Later that month, however, a spokeswoman for Carroll’s publisher, Doubleday, told the ''[[New York Daily News]]'', “There was nothing in Linda Carroll’s book proposal about Marlon Brando, nor will there be anything in the book about him. I’ve spoken to her and she has told me that there is no truth to the suggestion that she is related to Marlon Brando.”<ref>[http://www.mtvasia.com/News/200308/15000939.html Brando Shocks Courtney Love]</ref><ref>[http://rockdirt.com/article7319.html Courtney Love Not Brando’s Granddaughter]</ref>
Rumours surfaced in August 2005 that Love was pregnant with a child of British comedian [[Steve Coogan]], although both parties publicly denied this. This rumor followed an earlier rumor that the pair had been engaged in an affair.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4172666.stm Love and Coogan deny baby claim]</ref>
==Awards==
{| class="wikitable" width=90%
!align=center| Year
! Award
! Category
! Film
|-
|rowspan="2"|1996
|New York Film Critics Circle Awards
|Best Supporting Actress
|rowspan="5"|''[[The People vs. Larry Flynt]]''
|-
|Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
|Best Supporting Actress
|-
|rowspan="3"|1997
|Golden Satellite Awards
|Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
|-
|Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
|Most Promising Actress
|-
|Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
|Best Supporting Actress
|-
|2001
|L. A. Outfest: Grand Jury Award
|Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film
|''[[Julie Johnson]]''
|}
==Discography==
{{main|Courtney Love discography}}
===Studio albums===
*''[[America's Sweetheart]]'' (2004)
*''[[Nobody's Daughter]]'' (possibly 2008)
'''Manga''' =
''Princess Ai''
==Filmography==
* ''[[Sid and Nancy]]'' <small>(1986)</small>
* ''[[Straight to Hell (film)|Straight to Hell]]'' <small>(1987)</small>
* ''[[Tapeheads]]'' <small>(1988)</small>
* ''[[1991: The Year Punk Broke]]'' <small>(1992/Documentary)</small>
* ''[[Tank Girl]]'' <small>(1995/Executive music coordinator)</small>
* ''[[Basquiat]]'' <small>(1996)</small>
* ''[[Feeling Minnesota]]'' <small>(1996)</small>
* ''[[The People vs. Larry Flynt]]'' <small>(1996)</small>
* ''Not Bad for a Girl'' <small>(1996/Documentary/Co-[[Film producer|Producer]])</small>
* ''Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen’s'' <small>(1997/Documentary)</small>
* ''[[Kurt & Courtney]]'' <small>(1998/Documentary)</small>
* ''Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl'' <small>(1999/Documentary/Narrator)</small>
* ''[[200 Cigarettes]]'' <small>(1999)</small>
* ''[[Man on the Moon]]'' <small>(1999)</small>
* ''[[Beat (2000 film)|Beat]]'' <small>(2000)</small>
* ''Bounce: Behind the Velvet Rope'' <small>(2000/Documentary)</small>
* ''[[Julie Johnson]]'' <small>(2001)</small>
* ''Last Party 2000'' <small>(2001/Documentary)</small>
* ''[[Trapped (2002 film)|Trapped]]'' <small>(2002)</small>
* ''[[Mayor of the Sunset Strip]]'' <small>(2003/Documentary)</small>
* ''(This Is Known As) The Blues Scale'' <small>(2004/Documentary)</small>
* ''Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal’s Caligula'' <small>(2005/Short Film)</small>
== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}
== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commonscat}}
* [http://www.courtneylove.com/ Official Courtney Love Site ]
* [http://www.myspace.com/courtneylove Official Courtney Love Myspace]
* {{Imdb name|id=0001482}}
* [http://books.aol.com/feature/_a/interview-with-courtney-love/20061114180409990001 Courtney Love Interview] (2006) on her book ''[[Dirty Blonde]]'' by AOL Books
* [http://www.courttv.com/trials/love/ Court TV Coverage]
* [http://www.tornadohills.com/donna/clc.htm Satellites of Love (Spin Magazine 1996)]
{{Courtney Love}}
{{Faith No More}}
{{Hole}}
{{Nirvana (band)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Courtney}}
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