Courtney Michelle Love (born Courtney Michelle Harrison, July 9, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actress, visual artist, and model. Prolific in the hardcore and grunge scenes of the 1990s with her band Hole, Love's uninhibited stage presence and tumultuous personal life led to her reputation as an enfant terrible of alternative music.
The daughter of psychotherapist Linda Carroll and publisher Hank Harrison, Love mainly grew up in Portland, Oregon, where she was in a series of short-lived bands. After a stint as a vocalist in Faith No More, Love appeared in films by British cult director Alex Cox in the late 1980s before forming Hole in Los Angeles in 1989. Love received substantial attention from underground rock press for Hole's debut album, produced by Kim Gordon, while their second release, Live Through This (1994), lent her a more high-profile renown, receiving critical accolades and going multi-platinum. In 1995, Love returned to acting, earning a Golden Globe Nomination for her performance in Miloš Forman's The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996). Shortly after, Hole's third release, Celebrity Skin (1998), earned Love recognition as a mainstream musician, and was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards.