Courtney Love

Courtney Michelle Love (born Courtney Michelle Harrison; July 9, 1964) is an American vocalist, lyricist, musician and actress, perhaps best known as frontwoman and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole. She also received massive media attention over her marriage to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, before and after his suicide in 1994.

After an unstable childhood and adolescence, Love sought to form a rock band from an early age, and founded Hole in 1989 at the age of 25. The band released several albums in the 1990s, debuting with Pretty on the Inside (1991), an underground hit, especially in the United Kingdom. The band followed with two highly acclaimed albums, Live Through This (1994) and Celebrity Skin (1998). Love also starred in several films throughout the '90s, most notably The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996), for which she won a Golden Globe nomination.

Hole would officially disband in 2002, and Love became a media spectacle in the latter part of the decade due to a series of legal troubles and battles with drug addiction, largely amidst the release of her first solo album. In 2007, Love announced her sobriety after a lengthy court-ordered rehab, and began working on a fifth album. In 2009, Love reformed Hole with new members, and released the group's fourth album, Nobody's Daughter (2010).

Love has also attracted significant media attention over the years for her wild stage performances and subversive feminism. According to the British newspaper, The Guardian, Rolling Stone once called Love "the most controversial woman in rock history."

Personal Life

Courtney Love is a member of Soka Gakkai, having started exploring the religion in 1991. Love stated that in 1990, she would chant daily, and in retrospect, has credited her spiritual awakening as a being responsible for her success with Hole. Through her mother's biological mother, Love is a distant relative of actor Douglas Fairbanks.

Courtney Love

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