Young, vibrant, and a self-described dork, singer Gwen Stefani has risen from the sun-baked depths of Orange County, California to emerge as one of pop music’s most recognized and adored vocalists. Not since Madonna or Whitney Houston has one woman made such an indelible mark on music. As the lead singer of the hard-rocking quartet No Doubt, whose sound draws from punk and ska influences, Stefani’s celebrity has at times eclipsed that of her fellow band members: guitarist Tom Dumont, drummer Adrian Young and bassist Tony Kanal, Stefani’s love interest for seven years. Through years of hard work, tough decisions and personal pain, Stefani and her band mates struggled to make it big. Indeed they did, only to realize it wasn’t the end of a long hard road, but the beginning of a new one.
Born in Orange County on October 3, 1969, Stefani grew up in an average suburban home, complete with mom, dad and a few brothers and sisters. A heavy dose of punk, ska, and The Sound of Music provided Stefani with a firm foundation from which she later drew influence. Stefani took her first steps toward stardom at 17 when she performed in a talent show with her brother, Eric. The two later formed No Doubt, with Stefani sharing vocals with John Spence, a friend of Eric’s. Starting in early 1987, the band toured the party circuit in and around Anaheim, California. In December of 1987, however, tragedy struck when Spence committed suicide. The group hastily broke up, but reformed a few days later to honor their fallen friend.
With renewed vigor, the band added new members (Dumont and Young) and performed around Orange County. No Doubt’s live shows attracted a large following, which led to recording their first demo with Flea, bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Interscope Records later signed the group, with head honcho for the record company, Jimmy Iovine, predicting Stefani would become a star in five years. A few bumps, however, slowed down her trek along the road to stardom. No Doubt’s self-titled debut sold only 30,000 copies, and despite a three-record deal, Interscope refused to back the band on their second LP. While working day jobs—Stefani and Kanal worked at the same department store—the band recorded their second album, The Beacon Street Collection, on their own dime. Shortly after its release, Eric left the band to become an animator on “The Simpsons” (Fox, 1989- ), reducing No Doubt to a quartet.The band’s hard work and determination paid off, as Interscope was impressed with The Beacon Street Collection.
Songs penned during the sessions were recorded on a third album with Interscope’s blessing and was released in October 1995 as Tragic Kingdom. Constant touring and radio play for “Just A Girl” and “Spiderwebs” catapulted the band into a world of fame and celebrity. Stefani soon became separated from the band by the media and became a star in her own right. Adding fuel to the media fire where the personal nature of the songs: many on Tragic Kingdom were about the pain Stefani went through after her break-up with bassist Kanal. Despite the failed relationship, the band continued on, becoming a regular fixture on radio and MTV, something the band found ironic since their early years were spent mocking bands on the music television station. Their biggest hit from the album, “Don’t Speak”, a ballad about her break-up with Kanal, went to number one, and the video went into round-the-clock rotation on MTV, thus cementing the band’s, and Stefani’s, celebrity.
In 2000, No Doubt followed up the multi-platinum Tragic Kingdom with The Return of Saturn, widely considered a more mature effort. Stefani’s exploration of troubled romance and her romantic ideals permeated the lyrics, while the band attempted to make their punk and ska influences more relevant to older audiences. The singles “Ex-Girlfriend” and “Simple Kind Of Life” were well-received by both critics and audiences. Meanwhile, Stefani branched out on her own, popping up in unusual places: a remix of Moby’s “South Side” and a duet with rapper Eve on “Let Me Blow Your Mind”.
No Doubt released their fifth album, Rock Steady, in December 2001. The band received two Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for “Hey Baby” (in 2002) and “Underneath It All” (in 2003); a third single, “Hella Good”, also burned up the charts. Stefani took advantage of the band’s success to launch a career in films. She will have made her movie debut in “The Aviator (2004), playing Jean Harlow, the platinum blonde starlet from the 1930’s who got her first big break in Hollywood from Howard Hughes, and who ultimately suffered a tragic fate at an early age. Stefani managed to keep her budding film career separate from her music, as her 2004 solo disc Love. Angel. Music. Baby. spawned several hit singles--her hooky, addictive "Hollaback Girl" in paritcular made digital music history in 2005 by achieving more than a million commercial digital downloads--and No Doubt relased their sixth album Everything In Time, a collection of B-sides and rarities, in2004.
Looking enviably glamorous in anything from wildly creative rock/punk styles to high end haute couture, Stefani also emerged as an influential, much-admired and frequently copied fashion icon in the entertainment industry, and also launched her own line of clothing and accessories called L.A.M.B. (another use of her "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." slogan).