Goddess of the Rock Courtney Lovemarriage to the late leader of Nirvana Kurt Cobain was one of the defining pop culture romances of the 1990s, but many don’t remember that she dated a Hollywood megastar later in the decade.
Shortly after Cobain’s death in 1994, Love had his breakthrough as an actor with the role of hustler co-editor Althea Leisure Flynt in the 1996 biopic The People Against Larry Flynt. The Miloš Forman-directed film dramatized the controversial life of hustler founder Larry Flyntstarring Woody Harrelson in the title role and Edward Norton like Flynt’s attorney, Alan Isaacman.
The People Against Larry Flynnt brought Love a new level of mainstream visibility, as she received a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination for the role. Love also began dating co-star Norton at numerous industry events before they finally split in 1999.
“I’m working on my man karma… I should have married Edward,” she admitted Breaking news in 2006. “I left Ed Norton, who was good and wonderful, for an ordinary man. It’s distressing.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about this tumultuous period in Amor’s life.
Courtney Love’s husband, Kurt Cobain, died in 1994
Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain were icons of the early 90s grunge rock scene as the lead vocalists of Hole and Nirvana, respectively. They married on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 24, 1992, in front of a handful of close friends, including Cobain’s bandmate. Dave Grohl.
Love was pregnant on her wedding day and soon gave birth to her daughter Frances Bean Cobain on August 18, 1992. Cobain and Love’s marriage was notoriously rocky, with constant press reports accusing him of dominating the Nirvana star’s life and career.
“Neither of us really liked the whole ‘Courtney is the bad guy,'” she said. V Magazine in 2015. “He hated it as much as I did because it shamed him, castrated him, and made him look weak. He’s seen as the rock star who didn’t want fame, the weak pathetic guy who took over this controlling woman, and yadda yadda. It kind of pissed me off, and to be honest with you.”
The rock world was left in mourning when Kurt committed suicide at the age of 27 on April 8, 1994. Later that year, Love spoke to Rolling Stone about experiencing such a global loss.
“I used to be able to talk to Kurt more, wherever he was,” Love said. “But now he’s really gone. I used to feel that it was very selfish to mourn him because it would make him feel guilty. And the best thing was to pray for him and show him joy, so that he could feel the vibration of joy. But now I know he’s dissipated and gone. There’s nothing left. Not even anyone to talk to.”
Courtney Love and Edward Norton worked together in ‘The People vs. Larry Flynt’
After the death of Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love forged a new career as an actress. Although he had small roles in films of the 80s Sid and Nancy i Straight to hellhis breakthrough as an actor came through acting hustler co-editor Althea Leasure Flynt in the 1996s The People Against Larry Flyntalongside Woody Harrelson and Edward Norton.
Norton and Love were linked soon after filming the biographical drama, although Norton tried to downplay the seriousness of the relationship in a series of 1997 interviews.
Edward Norton, Courtney Love and Woody Harrelson in “The People Vs. Larry Flynt”
Courtesy of Columbia Pictures/Courtesy of the Everett Collection“When you’re working hard, you keep your nose down. You can’t afford to be distracted by these things,” he said. The Chicago Tribune that year
However, Courtney eventually confirmed that Norton moved in with her and her daughter, Frances Bean, in their Los Angeles home in the late 1990s. The rocker trusted Interview magazine who once had an otherworldly encounter with late husband Cobain after hanging out with Norton.
“When I moved to Hancock Park from Seattle with Frances and Edward, I saw Kurt in a chair for a while,” she revealed. “He greeted me and then left.”
Courtney Love and Edward Norton clashed over their careers
This new high-profile relationship coincided with Courtney Love receiving more attention than ever, given her acclaimed performance in The People Against Larry Flynnt. However, Love accused Norton of trying to control her budding acting career by urging her to turn down roles in interrupted girl i The Matrix.
“(The Matrix) was in this remote part of Australia for nine months and I remember Norton saying to me, ‘Oh, don’t do it, Val Kilmerit’s there! Like, Val Kilmer wasn’t even there! I mean, was that a reason not to? A lot of people were like, ‘What happened to the movie?'” he said hot press in 2010. “I said, ‘What happened with the shitty movie is that I had a boyfriend in Edward Norton who wanted to tame me, as many men have tried to do, as many men still try and do, and…” You know, ‘Let’s chain the rock star!’
Love admitted that she especially hated being considered “Mrs. Norton” by the public during this phase of her life.
“‘She used to be Courtney Love.’ That’s really what was going on in that relationship,” the rock star recalled. “And a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, he saved you, he saved you!’ No, he didn’t save me, he wanted me to be his clueless wife.”
Courtney Love claimed she had an affair with Gavin Rossdale
talking with hot press in 2010, Courtney Love revealed that she dated fellow rocker Gavin Rossdale for “eight months” and that there was “some overlap between when I dated Edward (Norton) and he dated Gwen (Stefani).”
“Never when (Rossdale and Stefani) got engaged,” he quickly clarified. “So we were like a bit of friends. He was playing on the pitch. He was seeing Gwen, he was seeing me. It was common knowledge. So it was a bit of an overlap in the ’90s. It’s not a big deal. I would never sleep with a… In fact, I once slept with a married man, that was a terrible thing. As advertised! – And Gavinstro was love.”
Love alleged that both Stefani and Norton “forbade” him from going further with Rossdale.
“So that was it. But we went straight out for eight months,” he insisted.
Courtney Love and Edward Norton broke up in 1999
The People Against Larry Flynt the co-stars split in early 1999. (Edward Norton later married the producer Shauna Robertson in 2012 and share a son, Atlas, born in March 2013.)
“I love Edward so much,” Love said Vanity Fair in 2003, “It’s not in anyone’s history book that we dated because it managed to scare the vultures.”
Love’s memories of her time with Norton have been decidedly mixed over the years. she Norton described as “honorable but terribly (SIC) bad sexist” as well as “one of my best friends I have or will ever have” in a series of confusing tweets in February 2010. (Love later apologized for his rant on Twitter.)
Years later, Love was asked via an Instagram story if she had had “good boyfriends?” She responded with a photo of Norton and captioned it, “Here’s one.”
Love never remarried after Cobain’s death. She described herself as a “libertine” during an appearance in 2025 “Fashion Neurosis” podcast
“The person I do my most romantic shit with is also a libertine, so we’re really more friends with benefits,” she teased.
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