From Hole to Hollywood: Looking Back at Courtney Love’s Film Career

Courtney Love is best known for her contribution to ’90s alternative rock and for her marriage to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Oh, and probably also for her very public issues with substance abuse. And for her no-holds-barred Twitter persona. Hell, Courtney Love is known for a lot of things! But one thing we typically forget is that she has had a pretty well-established, if not terribly prolific, film career that began years before she started screaming behind a microphone. On her 50th (!) birthday, we take a look back at Courtney Love’s film roles.

Sid and Nancy

Love auditioned for the role of Nancy Spungeon, the doomed paramour of Sex Pistol Sid Vicious, but the role went to Chloe Webb. Writer-director Alex Cox, who liked Love’s audition, wrote the small role of Gretchen specifically for her.

Straight to Hell
Love reunited with Sid and Nancy director Alex Cox for this bizarre pseudo-parody of Spaghetti Westerns, which also featured Elvis Costello, Joe Strummer, Dennis Hopper, Jim Jarmusch, and Grace Jones. In 2010, cox re-edited the film as Straight to Hell Returns.

Straight to Hell Returns is available for rental on Amazon Instant Video.

Basquiat
Painter Julian Schnabel’s biopic of New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat was his directorial debut and boasted an all-star cast of ‘90s indie film staples, which included Love as the minor character Big Pink.

Basquiat is available for rental on Amazon Instant Video.

Feeling Minnesota
Love had a minor role as a diner waitress named Rhonda in this pretty forgettable crime comedy starring Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz.

The People vs. Larry Flynt
Love’s acting career was briefly legitimized with Milos Forman’s biopic of the infamous Hustler publisher. Her portrayal of Flynt’s wife, Althea Leasure, earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

The People vs. Larry Flynt is available for purchase on Amazon Instant Video.

200 Cigarettes
The late ‘90s saw many silly nostalgia-fueled period comedies about the wackiness of the 1980s, including this ensemble film about New Year’s Eve 1981 which pit Love against the always adorable Paul Rudd.

Man on the Moon
Milos Forman reteamed with Love for this biopic of the comedian Andy Kaufman, played by Jim Carrey. Again, Love portrayed the not-so-famous lover of an infamous American pop culture icon.

Man on the Moon is available for rental on Amazon Instant Video.

Beat
In this little-seen drama, Love plays Joan Vollmer, who infamously died after being shot by her husband, the Beat poet and writer William S. Burroughs.

Beat is available for rental on Amazon Instant Video.

Julie Johnson
Lili Taylor and Courtney Love play a pair of New Jersey housewives who leave their husbands, shack up together, and start doin’ it.

Trapped
Love co-starred alongside Kevin Bacon, Charlize Theron, and Dakota Fanning in this thriller about a kidnapping gone wrong. (Do you think Courtney and Dakota hung out a lot on set? Man, I sure hope so.)

Trapped is available for purchase on Amazon Instant Video.