Here is a look at the life of Courtney Love, singer, songwriter and actress.
Personal:
Birth date: July 9, 1964
Birth place: San Francisco, California
Birth name: Love Michelle Harrison
Father: Hank Harrison
Mother: Linda Carroll
Marriages: Kurt Cobain (1992-1994, his death); James Moreland (1989-1989, divorced)
Children: with Kurt Cobain: Frances Bean
Other Facts:
Widow of Kurt Cobain, former lead singer of Nirvana.
Has made news for her multiple drug arrests and stints in rehabilitation programs.
Nominated for four Grammy awards.
Timeline:
1965 – After her parents’ divorce, Love’s mother takes her to live in New Zealand.
1970s-1980s – Returns to the United States and lives in Oregon and California. Is arrested for shoplifting and is sent to reform school.
1980 – Declares herself an emancipated minor.
1980s – Travels to Taiwan, Japan, England, and Alaska on her trust fund. Finds work as a stripper and sings with various rock bands. Forms her own group, Sugar Baby Dolls, with singer Kat Bjelland.
1986 – Appears in a small role in the film “Sid & Nancy” as Nancy Spungen’s friend.
1989 – Forms the rock group “Hole” in Minneapolis with Kat Bjelland.
1990 – Hole’s album “Rat Bastard” is released.
1991 – Begins dating musician Kurt Cobain.
1991 – Hole’s album “Pretty on the Inside” is released.
February 1992 – Marries Cobain in Hawaii.
September 1992 – A Vanity Fair profile alleges Love took heroin while pregnant. Love first denies the charges, then later admits she took heroin early on in her pregnancy.
April 5, 1994 – Cobain commits suicide in their Seattle home.
April 12, 1994 – Hole’s album “Live Through This” is released.
1996 – Plays Larry Flynt’s wife, Althea, in the film “The People vs. Larry Flynt.”
1997 – Is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by An Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for “The People vs. Larry Flynt.”
February 27, 1998 – “Kurt and Courtney,” a documentary that raises questions about Love’s potential involvement in Cobain’s death, is released.
1999 – Stars in the film “Man on the Moon” with Jim Carrey.
December 2000 – Files a lawsuit for stalking and harassment against Lesley Barber, the ex-wife of Jim Barber, Love’s manager and ex-boyfriend. The case is eventually settled out of court.
February 2001 – Sues her record label, Universal Music Group, accusing them of unfair accounting practices.
May 2002 – Hole breaks up.
October 2002 – Settles the lawsuit with Universal.
February 4, 2003 – Is arrested at Heathrow Airport in London for disruptive and abusive behavior aboard a Virgin Airlines flight.
October 2, 2003 – Is arrested for disorderly conduct outside Jim Barber’s house after smashing his windows. After a possible drug overdose, she is arrested on two counts of felony drug possession. Temporary custody of daughter, Frances Bean, is given to Cobain’s mother.
February 10, 2004 – Releases her first solo album “America’s Sweetheart.”
March 17, 2004 – Bares her chest on The Late Show with David Letterman.
April 2004 – Max Wallace and Ian Halperin’s book, “Love and Death,” supports the conspiracy theory that Love was involved in and responsible for Cobain’s death.
May 13, 2004 – Pleads not guilty to charges of assault and reckless endangerment for a March 18th incident at a concert where she allegedly threw a microphone stand that hit a fan on the head.
May 25, 2004 – Pleads guilty to a misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance and agrees to enter a drug rehabilitation program.
June 9, 2004 – Is charged with assault with a deadly weapon for an April 2004 incident in which Love allegedly attacked a female with a bottle and metal flashlight at Jim Barber’s house.
October 1, 2004 – Love is sued by New Act Travel, a travel agency that claims she ordered nearly $50,000 in airline tickets, but wouldn’t pay.
October 20, 2004 – Pleads guilty to disorderly conduct for the microphone stand incident in March. She is fined and ordered into a drug rehabilitation program.
November 10, 2004 – Pleads not guilty to the assault charges for the April 2004 incident at Barber’s home.
January 11, 2005 – Is granted full custody of her daughter.
February 10, 2005 – Love enters plea deals with prosecutors for the assault and drug charges. She must take anger management classes and is sentenced to three years probation.
September 16, 2005 – Is sentenced to 180 days in a live-in drug treatment center for violating her probation.
November 19, 2005 – Judge Rand Rubin permits Love to enroll in an outpatient rehabilitation facility, orders her to undergo drug testing, and extends her probation to March 2007.
April 13, 2006 – Sells interest in the music publishing rights of her late husband for $50 million.
December 11, 2006 – Judge ends Love’s probation early in the drug and assault case.
March 1, 2007 – A lawsuit is filed by Beau Monde, the drug rehabilitation center where Love stayed in 2005, claiming Love has not paid her $181,000 bill for treatment. A year later the case is settled out of court.
March 8, 2008 – Love reports the loss of millions of dollars in an identity theft scam where thieves used her late husband’s identity to purchase a multi-million dollar home in New Jersey.
March 2009 – Fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir sues Love for libel, accusing the singer of posting disparaging remarks about her on Twitter and MySpace.
December 11, 2009 – Temporary guardianship of her daughter is given to Cobain’s mother and sister.
March 3, 2011 – As part of a legal settlement for the 2009 Twitter defamation case, Love agrees to pay fashion designer Simorangkir $430,000.
May 4, 2015 – “Montage of Heck,” a documentary on the life of Cobain airs on HBO. The documentary is authorized by both Love and Frances Bean.
