Courtney Love is an American rock musician and actress who began her professional career in film in 1986 with a supporting role in Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy (1986); she had prior studied film with experimental director George Kuchar at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1984, and appeared in one of Kuchar's short films. After pursuing music and having a successful career as the frontwoman of alternative rock band Hole, Love also had intermittent roles in films, most notably receiving critical attention for her performance as Althea Flynt in Miloš Forman's 1996 biopic The People vs. Larry Flynt, which earned her a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Actress, as well as awards from the Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles film critics associations. Love later appeared among an ensemble cast in 200 Cigarettes (1998), as well as in a leading role in Man on the Moon (1999) alongside Jim Carrey, for which she received critical recognition. She later appeared in several independent films and short subjects as well as the thriller Trapped (2002) alongside Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon, and Julie Johnson (2001), for which she received an award for Best Actress at Los Angeles' gay and lesbian Outfest film festival.
In 2014, Love joined the cast of the FX series Sons of Anarchy for the show's seventh and final season in a recurring role; this marked Love's debut role in a television series. Subsequent television work included appearances on the ABC-TV nighttime soap Revenge as well as the hit Lee Daniels drama Empire. In 2018, Love made a supporting appearance in director Justin Kelly's JT LeRoy.
Love has also appeared in a multitude of documentary films as both an interviewee as well as in archival and live footage, including the Sonic Youth documentary subject 1991: The Year Punk Broke (1992); Not Bad for a Girl (1995), which focused on women in alternative music; and Hit So Hard (2011), which documented the life of Love's bandmate, drummer Patty Schemel. A documentary of Love's life, Antiheroine, will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2026.
Films
Year Title Role Director Notes 1984 Club Vatican Girl George Kuchar Short film 1986 Sid and Nancy Gretchen 1987 Straight to Hell Velma 1988 Tapeheads Norman's Spanker Uncredited 1996 Basquiat Big Pink 1996 Feeling Minnesota Rhonda 1996 The People vs. Larry Flynt Althea Leasure Flynt 1999 200 Cigarettes Lucy 1999 Man on the Moon Lynne Margulies 2000 Beat Joan Vollmer Burroughs 2001 Julie Johnson Claire 2002 Trapped Cheryl 2005 Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula Caligula Short film 2011 Courtney in Wonderland Herself Jason Bell Short film2015 The Long Home Pearl Unreleased https://movieweb.com/james-franco-unreleased-movie-the-long-home-lio-tipton/ 2017 Menendez: Blood Brothers Kitty Menendez Television film 2018 JT LeRoy Sasha
Television Year Series Role Notes 1998-2010 Behind the Music Herself 2 episodes 2003 The Osbournes Herself 1 episode 2005 Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson Herself 2014 Sons of Anarchy Ms. Harrison Recurring role; 4 episodes 2015 The Hopes Chase Hope Television short 2015 Empire Elle Dallas 2 episodes 2015 Revenge White Gold Guest star; 3 episodes 2017 A Midsummer's Nightmare Titania Featured role; TV movie/backdoor pilot 2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself 1 episode ("Tap That App") 2021Bruises of RosesLead performer1 episode2024Never Mind the BuzzcocksPanelist1 episode
Documentaries Year Documentary features Role Notes 1993 1991: The Year Punk Broke Herself 1995 Not Bad for a Girl 1997 Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's 1998 Kurt & Courtney 1999 Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl Voice-over narrator 2000 Bounce: Behind the Velvet Rope 2001 Eminem: Behind the Mask 2001 Last Party 2000 2003 Mayor of the Sunset Strip 2006 The Return of Courtney Love Produced for Channel 4 2011 Hit So Hard 2011 Bob and the Monster 2012 Sunset Strip 2015 Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck 2025Broken English2026Antiheroine
Music videos Year Songs Artist(s) Notes 1988"I Wanna Be Sedated" Ramones Uncredited 1992 "Garbadge Man" Hole 1993 "Beautiful Son" Unreleased1994 "Miss World" "Doll Parts" 1995 "Violet" "Softer, Softest" MTV Unplugged performance 1996 "Gold Dust Woman" Recorded for The Crow: City of Angels soundtrack1998 "Celebrity Skin" "Malibu" 1999 "Awful" Live footage 2000 "Be a Man" Released for Any Given Sunday soundtrack 2004 "Mono" Courtney Love 2011 "Samantha" Hole 2014 "Rat a Tat" Fall Out Boy "You Know My Name" Courtney Love 2018 "Tattooed in Reverse" Marilyn Manson
Podcasts YearPodcastHost(s)Episode / NotesRef.2013The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe RoganEpisode #4052016Anna Faris Is UnqualifiedAnna FarisEpisode 302017RuPaul: What's the Tee?RuPaul and Michelle VisageEpisode 992021WTF with Marc MaronMarc MaronEpisode 12242024Courtney Love's WomenCourtney Love8-part BBC original audio series2026The Magnificent OthersBilly Corgan Episode: "Courtney Love"
Theatre YearTitleRoleVenue / LocationRef.2015Kansas City Choir BoyAthenaHERE Arts Center (New York) – PROTOTYPE FestivalAmerican Repertory Theater (Boston)Kirk Douglas Theatre (Los Angeles)
See also Courtney Love discography List of awards and nominations received by Courtney Love
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