Gwen Stefani's biography

Name

Gwen Stefani

Date of Birth

October 03, 1969

Birth Place

Anaheim, Calif.

 

Just a Girl

Artsy high school senior Stefani dreams of being a homemaker like her mother, but when older brother Eric forms a band, No Doubt, with fellow Dairy Queen workers, she agrees to join as second vocalist. In December 1987, the band's lead singer, John Spence, takes his own life at age 18. At her brother's urging, Stefani takes over lead vocals. "All I wanted to ever do was get married and have babies, have a house," she tells the Washington Post a decade later. "So it's weird that I'm in a rock group."


 Stefani's seven-year relationship with No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal ends and the band is on the brink of breakup, but Stefani keeps them on track by throwing herself into songwriting to work through her pain. The result is Tragic Kingdom.

 No Doubt releases Tragic Kingdom after Interscope gives the band a second shot on its Trauma label. The disc becomes No Doubt's most successful album, selling more than 15 million copies worldwide and spending nine weeks at the No. 1 position on the Billboard Top 200 chart, spurred on by hit singles "Don't Speak," "Spiderwebs" and "Just a Girl." The videos feature frenetic performances by Stefani, decked out in platinum-blonde hair, belly-baring midriff shirts and her most striking feature, vermilion lips. She is featured on several magazine covers.