Childhood

Gwendolyn Renee Stefani was born on October 3, 1969 and raised in glittering sunshine of Orange County in Southern California. Her father, Denis, is Italian and her mother Patti is of English and Scottish descent. She has a sister, Jill, and two brothers, Eric and Todd.

Gwen attended Cal State Fullerton, and at Loara High School where was on the swim team. Her first job was scrubbing floors at a Dairy Queen, and she once worked at a department store.

As Gwen was growing up she was strongly influenced by "ska" and "punk" music.

Her band "No Doubt" was started by her brother Eric Stefani, and a friend of his John Spence in 1987.

Eric eventually left the band to pursue a career in animation on The Simpsons. He was the keyboardist for No Doubt.

Tony Kanal joined the group a little later, and the trio began to gain popularity by playing at local parties.

Gwen started as a co-singer but moved from backing vocals to lead singer when their original lead, John Spence, committed suicide.

Career

A young and energetic Gwen Stefani moved into the music spotlight in 1987 as the sexy lead singer for the band No Doubt.

During first few years the group was playing gigs where ever they could and Gwen somehow managed to finish high school and enter college without missing a beat.

Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, recorded a demo for the band in 1990, which led to a deal with Interscope Records.

In 1992, after signing with Interscope Records, No Doubt released its self-titled debut album. When the record label didn't like the numbers that came in from that first album, they were unwilling to garner further support to the band as the album was far from a commercial success.

Even though her brother Eric left, Gwen and the other band members refused to give in and put up money of their own in 1995 to record a sophomore album called The Beacon Street Collection.

With the moderate success of the album No Doubt were back in business and also resparked Interscope’s confidence in the band.

The band's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, took three years to make. During this time, the band almost split up. The album was released in 1995 and spawned several hits, beginning with "Just a Girl".

The Grammy nominated album hit number one on the Billboard charts all over the Canada and the US, with the help of the punk-tinged catchy lyrics and an accompanying colorful video.

Gwen also wrote the hit song ‘Don’t Speak’ for the album, inspired by Stefani's relationship and breakup with fellow band member Tony Kanal. Gwen had dated Kanal for eight years until he ended the relationship because he needed more space. She slipped into depression after touring for Tragic Kingdom.

In 2000, the band released Return of Saturn. The CD was loaded with tons of new sound and great lyrics, and was definitely a step up from their previous release, the songs were more mature, and the music had grown.

Gwen married English rocker Gavin Rossdale on 14 September 2002 in London.

In 2001, No Doubt released Rock Steady and enjoyed some time on the charts with "Hey Baby" and "Hella Good."