High school senior Courtney Baxter became acquainted with the Hughes family through her brother, Sean, who was dating Frannie Hughes. A wild child, Courtney had run away from boarding school and moved into her brother's New York apartment before finally arriving in Oakdale. When Frannie introduced Courtney to her brother, Andy, Courtney was astonished--he was the guy she had had a one-night stand with! Unfortunately, Andy had no recollection of being with Courtney which hurt her feelings. However, soon the pair began dating. At the same time, Andy felt compelled to help out his old lover, the older and sultry Julie Wendell. Andy's obsession with helping the pregnant Julie made Courtney feel inadequate and she broke things off with Andy. Shortly after, she began dating the wealthy Evan Walsh. Meanwhile, Courtney convinced herself that Andy's disinterest in her was due to her weight and she developed a dangerous eating disorder. First, she became so obsessed with her weight that she finally stopped eating. Eventually, she was rushed to Memorial and diagnosed with malnutrition. When Courtney was forced to eat, she started purging her food. Luckily, with help from the staff at memorial, Courtney got help.

Throughout this, Andy lent an amazing amount of support. However, Courtney was determined to stay with Evan. Unfortunately, things got tense thanks to Evan's domineering mother and, when Evan had a one-night stand with Emily Stewart, Courtney called things off. Soon after, she and Andy reunited and got married at his mother's house at Christmastime. Unfortunately, Andy's work as a freelance photographer kept him away from home for weeks at a time. Not wanting a long distance marriage, Courtney asked Andy for a divorce and the pair parted ways amicably with Courtney leaving Oakdale to live near her brother in Switzerland.