"Professional Widow" is a 1996 song written by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It was originally a harpsichord-driven punk rock dirge included on her 1996 album Boys For Pele, but it gained international popularity after being remixed by house music producer Armand van Helden. The remixed single (entitled "The Star Trunk Funkin' Mix") hit number one on the UK single chart and the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the U.S. The song was then further remixed by artist Mr. Roy, spawning an entirely new CD-single of remixes that again took to the charts. In October 1996, a mash-up was made by The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels of the Armand van Helden remix and Lisa Stansfield's "People Hold On".
The eponymous "professional widow" is widely rumoured to be Courtney Love, former wife of Kurt Cobain, whom Trent Reznor credits with destroying the 'friendship' (whatever its extent) between himself and Tori. In 1999, Reznor's band Nine Inch Nails released a single called "Starfuckers, Inc.", with "Starfucker" being a word that appears in "Professional Widow".
