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Gwen Stefani Biography

Gwen Renée Stefani (born October 3, 1969) (pronounced /'gw?n st?'f??ni/[1]), is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and occasional actress. Stefani fronts the rock/ska punk band No Doubt, whose 1995 album Tragic Kingdom propelled them to stardom, selling 16 million copies worldwide. It spawned the singles "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs", and "Don't Speak". The band's popularity went into decline with its fourth album, Return of Saturn (2000), but Rock Steady (2001) introduced reggae production into its music, and generally received positive reviews.

Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was primarily inspired by music of the 1980s, taking Stefani's work further into more pop and dance music,[2] and enjoyed international success with sales of over seven million.[3] The album's third single "Hollaback Girl" became the first U.S. digital download to sell one million copies.[4] Stefani's second solo album The Sweet Escape (2006) yielded "Wind It Up", a moderate worldwide success, and the United World Chart number one "The Sweet Escape".[5] Including her work with No Doubt, Stefani has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.[6] She won the World's Best-Selling New Female Artist at the World Music Awards 2005. Stefani also received a positive response for not only the songs 4 In The Morning and Early Winter but also for their music videos.

In the media, Stefani is known as a fashion trendsetter.[7] In 2003, she debuted her clothing line L.A.M.B. and expanded her collection with the 2005 Harajuku Lovers line. Drawing inspiration from Japanese culture and fashion, Stefani performs and makes public appearances with four back-up dancers known as the Harajuku Girls. She married British grunge musician Gavin Rossdale in 2002; they have a son, Kingston James McGregor, who was born in 2006 and are expecting their second child in 2008.

Gwen Renée Stefani was born in Fullerton, California and raised in Anaheim, California,[9] and grew up in a Roman Catholic household.[10] Her mother named her after a stewardess in the 1968 novel Airport, and her middle name, Renée, comes from The Four Tops' 1968 cover of The Left Banke's 1966 hit song "Walk Away Renée".[11] Her father, Dennis Stefani, is Italian American and works as a Yamaha marketing executive. Her mother, Patti Flynn, is of Irish and Scottish descent and worked as an accountant before becoming a homemaker.[12][13] Her parents were fans of folk music and presented music by Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris to their daughter.[10] She is the second oldest of four children; she has a younger sister, Jill, a younger brother, Todd, and an older brother, Eric.[10][12] Eric was the keyboardist for No Doubt but left the band to pursue a career in animation on The Simpsons.

Many of the women in Stefani's family were seamstresses, and much of her clothing was made by her or her mother. As a child, Stefani's musical interests consisted of musicals such as The Sound of Music and Evita. After making a demo tape for her father, she was encouraged to take music lessons to train her "loopy, unpredictable" voice.

Stefani made her onstage debut during a talent show at Loara High School, where she sang "I Have Confidence," from The Sound of Music, in a self-made tweed dress inspired by one from the film.[3][15] Stefani was on the Loara swim team in an attempt to lose weight.[16] She first worked scrubbing floors at a Dairy Queen and later manning the MAC makeup counter of a department store.[17] After graduating from high school in 1987,[15] she began attending California State University, Fullerton.

Stefani made most of the clothing that she wore on stage with No Doubt, resulting in increasingly eclectic combinations. Stylist Andrea Lieberman introduced her to haute couture clothing, which lead to Stefani launching a fashion line named L.A.M.B. in 2004.[10] The line takes influence from a variety of fashions, including Guatemalan, Japanese, and Jamaican styles.[60] The line achieved popularity among celebrities and is worn by stars such as Teri Hatcher, Nicole Kidman, and Stefani herself.[61][62] In June 2005, she expanded her collection with the less expensive Harajuku Lovers line, which she referred to as "a glorified merchandise line", with varied products including a camera, mobile phone charms, and undergarments.[63][64] In late 2006, Stefani released a limited edition line of dolls called "Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Fashion dolls". The dolls are inspired by the various costumes that Stefani and the Harajuku Girls wore while touring for the album.[65] In late summer 2007, Stefani launched a perfume, 'L', as a part of her L.A.M.B. collection of clothing and accessories. The perfume has high notes of sweet pea and rose.

In 2004, Stefani showed interest in making film appearances[67] and began auditioning for films such as Mr. & Mrs. Smith.[68] She made her acting debut playing Jean Harlow in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator in 2004 and was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by Cast in Motion Picture.[69] Scorsese, whose daughter was a No Doubt fan, showed reciprocal interest in casting Stefani after seeing her picture from a Marilyn Monroe-inspired photo shoot for Teen Vogue in 2003.[70][71] To prepare for the role, Stefani read two biographies and watched 18 of Harlow's films.[10] Shooting her part took four to five days, and Stefani had few lines.[72] Stefani lent her voice to the title character of Malice, a PS2 and Xbox video game in 2004; before completion, however, the company opted not to use No Doubt band-members' voices.[73]

Soon after Stefani joined No Doubt, she and bandmate Tony Kanal began dating.[18] Stefani stated that she was heavily invested in the relationship, commenting that "...all I ever did was look at Tony and pray that God would let me have a baby with him."[15] Kanal ended the relationship.[74]

During her time with No Doubt, the band toured with fellow ska punk band Reel Big Fish, whose frontman, Aaron Barrett, later wrote the song "She's Famous Now" for their 1998 album Why Do They Rock So Hard?. The song is commonly interpreted to be about a relationship between the two and Stefani's subsequent success with No Doubt.[75] Barrett later stated that he "was just trying to start a rumor".[76]

In December 1995, No Doubt and rock band Goo Goo Dolls went on tour opening for alternative rock band Bush. Stefani met Bush guitarist and lead singer Gavin Rossdale[20] They married on September 14, 2002, with a wedding in St Paul's Church in Covent Garden, London. A second wedding was held in Los Angeles two weeks later.[77] According to Stefani, it was held so that she could wear a custom-designed wedding dress by British-Gibraltarian fashion designer John Galliano twice.[78]

The couple discovered in 2003 that Rossdale had a daughter, Daisy (b. 1989) from a previous fling with model Pearl Lowe when Rossdale took a paternity test. Stefani was "devastated and infuriated" at the discovery, leading to a rocky patch in her relationship with Rossdale.[79] Stefani does not have a relationship with Daisy, though Rossdale remains Daisy's godfather.[80] Stefani's song "Danger Zone" was widely believed to be about the discovery and its aftermath;[81] However, the song was written prior to the incident.[13]

In December 2005, Stefani and Rossdale announced that they were expecting their first child together. The pregnancy was first reported by Us Weekly, and Stefani confirmed the pregnancy by shouting "I want you to sing so loud that the baby hears it" during a concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after her press agent stated that it was untrue.[48] On May 26, 2006, their son, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, was born via caesarean section at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Kingston weighed 3.4 kilograms (7 pounds, 5 ounces). In January 2008, it was confirmed by her father-in-law that Stefani will be expecting her second child. As of the date of announcement, she was 13 weeks along. Rossdale and Stefani's second child is due in August 2008.

The release of Stefani's first solo album brought attention to her entourage of four Harajuku Girls, named for the area around the Harajuku Station of Tokyo, Japan. Stefani treats the back-up dancers, who appear in outfits influenced by Gothic Lolita fashion, as a figment of her imagination.Stefani's clothing also took influence from Japanese fashion, in a style described as a combination between Christian Dior and Japan. The dancers are featured in her music videos, press coverage, and on the album cover for Love. Angel. Music. Baby., with a song named for and dedicated to them on the album. They were also featured in, and the namesake for, Stefani's Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005.

Source: Wikipedia