Gwen Renée Stefani is an American popstar, singer, record producer, songwriter, and fashion designer. She is well known as the lead vocalist, lead songwriter, and co-founder of the ska-pop-rock band “No Doubt”. Besides that, Gwen also has a career as a solo artist. The band has hit singles like “Don’t Speak”, “Spiderwebs”, and “Just a Girl” from their popular album ‘Tragic Kingdom’ released in 1995, as well as other hits like “It’s My Life” and “Hey Baby” from future albums.

In December 2020, Stefani introduced a new song ‘Let Me Reintroduce Myself’. Since 2016, it is her first non-duet, non-Christmas song. She performed the song for the first time on the show ‘The Voice’ on December 7, 2020. With this track, she reconnects with Jamaican music which was the main inspiration for No Doubt and her solo performance career. This bouncy song has references to her hit songs “Underneath It All” and “Hollaback Girl”.

Early Life

Gwen was born in Fullerton, California on October 3, 1969. Dennis Stefani, her father, was a Yamaha marketing executive, while her mother Patti Flynn used to work as an accountant before becoming a stay-at-home mom. She was given a Catholic upbringing in Anaheim, California and has Irish and Italian ancestry.

She has an older brother Eric and 2 younger siblings Todd and Jill. She used to play the keyboard for No Doubt before he left for an animation career for The Simpsons.

Her parents were folk music fans and hence she was exposed to greats like Emmylou Harris and Bob Dylan. As a teen, she had a job at ‘Dairy Queen,’ the ice cream parlor.

Career

Gwen was introduced 2-Tone music style by Madness and the Selector by her brother Eric. In 1986, he formed a ska band ‘No Doubt’ and asked her to be the vocalist. The band was signed by Jimmy Lovine of Interscope Records in 1991 and it released a self-titled album the following year. The album and its sound did not do well because grunge was massively popular at that time. The second album ‘The Beacon Street Collection’ took 3 years to produce and was self released. The band finally found mainstream worldwide success with their third album ‘Tragic Kingdom’ which also released in 1995.

The single ‘Don’t Speak’ from the album was a massive hit and led the Hot 100 Airplay end of the year (1997) chart. By 2004, the album had sold over 16 million copies across the globe. It even received a Grammy nomination.

Gwen took a break for 1 semester from college for the ‘Tragic Kingdom’ tour. The tour went on for 2 and a half years and she did not return to college thereafter.

The band went into a hiatus after their ‘Return of Saturn’ of 2000 and ‘Rock Steady’ of 2001 albums did not do well. So, Stefani launched a solo career in 2004 with the release of the album ‘Love. Angel. Music. Baby’. It was a commercial and critical success. It had hugely popular hits like ‘Hollaback Girl’, ‘What You Waiting For?’, ‘Cool’, and ‘Rich Girl’, the first of which became the first available US download that sold over 1 million copies.

In 2006, Stefani released her second solo album ‘The Sweet Escape’, the 3^rd solo album ‘This Is What the Truth Feels Like’ in 2016, and her fourth solo album ‘You Make It Feel Like Christmas’ in 2017. The last was her first Christmas-themed full-length album. She has also released numerous singles in collaboration with other artists over the years.

In 2012, No Doubt released the album ‘Push and Shove’. Gwen continues to be a solo and band artist; she continues to tour with the band and as a solo performer. She has also appeared in numerous documentaries and TV shows.

Gwen Stefani  – boyfriend, Husband and Past Relationships

Gwen started dating Tony Kanal after he joined No Doubt. She has commented that she was really into the relationship and was praying to God to let her have a baby with him. When Tony and she broke up, it almost split up the band. This break-up was the source of inspiration for Gwen for several of the hit songs of the band, like Don’t Speak”, “Hey You!”, and “Sunday Morning”. The song ‘Cool’ from 2004 is about their new relationship as pals/friends.

In 1995, Gwen met Gavin Rossdale, the lead singer and guitarist of the band Bush, during an event for a radio station. The two married in London on September 14, 2002. There was a second wedding ceremony in LA after 2 weeks. The couple had 3 sons. She applied for divorce in August 2015 and it was finalized in April 2016. Their assets were mutually ‘unequally split’ after the divorce.

In November 2015, Stephanie revealed that she was in a relationship with Blake Shelton, her ‘The Voice’ co-star and country music performer. They were engaged in October 2020.

Trivia and Awards

• As a solo artist, Gwen has won 1 Grammy Award, 1 American Music Award, 4 MTV Video Music Awards, 2 Billboard Music Awards, and 1 Brit Award. She has received 2 Grammy Awards with No Doubt.
• As of 2020, her net worth is estimated to be $150 million.
• Her apparel line L.A.M.B. made its debut in 2003. In 2005, the collection expanded with the Harajuku Lovers line after she was inspired by Japanese fashion and culture.
• As a band and solo artist, Stefani has sold over 30 million albums across the globe.
• She gets her name from the stewardess featured in 1968 novel titled ‘Airport’.