Hole was an American alternative rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989 by singer-songwriter Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson. The band had a revolving line-up of bassists and drummers, their most prolific being drummer Patty Schemel, and bassists Kristen Pfaff (d. 1994) and Melissa Auf der Maur. Over the duration of their career, Hole went on to become one of the most successful female-fronted rock bands of all time, with their studio albums selling over 3 million records in the United States alone.

Initially part of Los Angeles' punk rock scene, the band collaborated with Kim Gordon for their critically acclaimed debut album, Pretty on the Inside (1991), following it with the more commercially viable Live Through This (1994), which was widely acclaimed and reached platinum status within a year of its release. With Love's lyrics explicitly discussing issues of body image, identity, and sexual exploitation, Hole became the most high-profile musical group of the 1990s to discuss feminist issues in their songs, and also gained considerable media coverage due to Love's reckless and disturbing live performances. Their third release, the more polished Celebrity Skin (1998), garnered them four Grammy nominations. In 2002 the group disbanded to pursue other projects.