The Evolution of Courtney Love

Characteristics: According to Court herself, "mouthy, a little weird, late on puberty."

Born Courtney Michelle Harrison, little Courtney spent her youth bouncing around from place to place, eventually winding up in reform school after stealing a Kiss T-shirt at 14. But despite her uneven upbringing, she had touching moments of normalcy and a strong desire to belong somewhere, and she even applied to be a cast member of The New Mickey Mouse Club. (Crazy, right?)

Characteristics: Choppy haircut and oodles of eye make-up.

Courtney's teen years were in the early '80s, and like any adolescent, she spent this time trying to find herself; pictured above is 16-year-old Courtney's stab at crafting an identity for the camera. A move to London shortly after really revived the rock and roll spirit of Courtney. There, she lived a gypsy life against the backdrop of Gothic, punky, and new romantic bands, including Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Characteristics: Falling everywhere, crashing award shows, hair full of secrets.

Adorable moments included hijacking Madonna's interview with Kurt Loder and showing up at the Oscars to drunkenly make out with Amanda de Cadenet (both were wearing $20 prom dresses and tiaras). I say this from a place of non-judgement, though, because I had a year in design school that played out similarly, and Courtney moved past hers like I did mine. Plus, this is the best her hair's ever looked, is it not?

Characteristics: Sleek bob haircut, Versace dresses, Golden Globe nomination.

What a difference two years makes! Courtney cleaned up for the 1997 awards season looking gorgeous and healthy, courted by high-end designers and lauded with critical praise. Everyone in the whole wide world is proud of her, like parents whose wayward child just made honor roll.

Characteristics: Hair gems, leather pants, the occasional set of fairy wings.

Celebrity Skin-era Courtney is probably the best compromise between Glam Courtney and Rock and Roll Courtney. Celebrity Skin itself is a solid power-pop record that mixes the beachy-ness of Los Angeles with a cynical-but-sparkly take on stardom. And here's a certain energy about this time frame in Hole's history that's extra special, because while Courtney still brought her alt-rock attitude, nobody was particularly worried she would fall apart on stage. It was a good time.

Characteristics: Tiered skirts, Emilie Autumn on violin, solo album.

Sadly, Courtney entered the new millennium a little worse for wear. She got back on drugs, got really into the whole Japanese Lolita thing—which I believe never translates well in American culture for some reason—flashed David Letterman, etc. And she released her solo record, America's Sweetheart, which received rather mixed reviews. Objectively speaking, I don't think the album deserved the slack it got, it's aggressively fine, but it's also the only C. Love CD I won't shell out money for, if that tells you anything.

Characteristics: To quote Karl Lagerfeld in the animated short "The Dark Night of the Soul," this Courtney was primarily "chiffon and lace and all that glitter-bead nonsense."

Despite what the name would suggest, Courtney-the-Kook from circa 2009 to 2010 was relatively harmless. Her only crime, really, was throwing together spangly outfits from the deepest, darkest parts of Etsy, and even that's endearing in a way.

Since we're combing through all her albums, it's important to note that she released and toured for Nobody's Daughter during this time. The album is no Live Through This, but definitely exceeds America's Sweetheart, and if you don't cry during "Pacific Coast Highway" you are utterly soulless.

Characteristics: Relative self-awareness, eccentric tweets, general awesomeness.

Still brash and outspoken but a tad more grounded, Courtney's cultivating new material, potentially conjuring up a Hole reunion, and amazing the world every day by simply surviving her whirlwind life. Who knows what the future holds for her, and what drama she'll fall into next. I'm not worried, though. At half a century old, she's a phoenix, able to crash, burn, and rise from the ashes hundreds of thousands of times.

Courtney once remarked that her ambition was to capture the prize of rock and roll, that is, "the crown passed from man to man" and all that goes with it, on a woman's terms. If she failed at that, she hoped to at least affect culture in a large way.

Well, love her or loathe her, today Courtney's one of the most recognizable forces of pop culture, and in that way, she's earned her crown. Happy birthday, Queen Courtney.