This was not just a child playing pretend. She showed an almost electric hunger to create, to perform, to become something. But creativity wasn’t the only force shaping her childhood.
A Childhood Fractured by Instability
Courtney was barely old enough to tie her shoes when her life began unraveling in ways no child should ever experience.
The instability didn’t stop with the divorce. After the separation, Courtney’s life turned into a constant cycle of movement, therapy sessions, sudden relocations, and emotional abandonment.
Before she was even a teenager, she had:
— Seen multiple psychiatrists
— Participated in special behavioral programs
— Been evaluated for autism
— Felt disconnected from peers
— Developed tactile defensiveness
— Struggled with social boundaries
By age nine, a psychologist noted that she showed signs of being on the autism spectrum — something Courtney later spoke about publicly.
“I was diagnosed autistic. At an early age, I would not speak.”
This was a child with brilliance, sensitivity, and emotional depth — but placed in the wrong environments again and again.
New Zealand: A Sudden, Unsettling Change
In 1973, when Courtney was nine, her mother suddenly relocated to New Zealand in a burst of idealistic “back-to-the-land” enthusiasm. She wanted to live simply, raise sheep, and escape the chaos of American life.
