Biography of Gwen StefaniGwen Renée Stefani (born October 3, 1969) (IPA pronunciation: [gwɛn stɛ'fɑn.ni]) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and occasional actress. Stefani debuted in 1992 as the frontwoman of the third wave ska band No Doubt, whose 1995 album Tragic Kingdom propelled them to stardom, selling sixteen million copies worldwide. It spawned the singles "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs", and the airplay number-one "Don't Speak". The band's popularity went into decline with its third album Return of Saturn (2000), but Rock Steady (2001) introduced dancehall and reggae production into its music, which 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 pop, R&B, and dance music, and enjoyed international success with sales of over seven million. The album's third single "Hollaback Girl" became the first U.S. digital download to sell one million copies. Stefani's second solo album The Sweet Escape (2006) yielded "Wind It Up", a moderate worldwide success. Including her work with No Doubt, Stefani has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.
In the media, Stefani is known as a fashion trendsetter. 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, and has drawn accusations of racism for the subject. She married British indie musician Gavin Rossdale in 2002, and the two have a son, Kingston, who was born in 2006.
Stefani had a crush on bandmate Tony Kanal when he joined No Doubt, but Kanal initially rejected her because her older brother was in the band and Kanal felt it was an unspoken rule that no one of the band date her. The two eventually began dating and were "inseparable" by the early 1990s. 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." Kanal ended the relationship because he said that he needed "space".
During her time with No Doubt, the band toured with ska punk band Reel Big Fish, whose frontman, Aaron Barrett, later wrote the song "She's Famous Now" for Reel Big Fish's 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; however, Barrett later stated that he "was just trying to start a rumor".
In December 1995, Stefani met Bush guitarist and lead singer Gavin Rossdale at a No Doubt concert, and the two became involved in a long distance relationship. The couple has kept details about its relationship private, avoiding talking to journalists together. They married in 2002, with a wedding in St Paul's Church in Covent Garden, London. A second wedding was held in Los Angeles, California two weeks later. According to Stefani, it was held so that she could wear a custom-designed wedding dress by British-Gibraltarian fashion designer John Galliano.
The couple discovered in 2004 that Rossdale had an illegitimate 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.Stefani does not have a relationship with Daisy, though Rossdale remains Daisy's godfather. Stefani's song "Danger Zone" was widely believed to be about the discovery and its aftermath; however, the song was written prior to the incident.
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. On May 26, 2006, their son, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, was born via caesarean section at the Cedars-Sinai
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