Gwen
Stefani was born October 3, 1969, in Orange
County, California. Growing up in Southern California with brothers
Todd and Eric -- where they
were raised by parents Dennis and Patti -- Gwen was highly influenced
by the rising popularity of ska and punk that was making its presence
felt in the So Cal area.
Gwen's brother Eric started the band No Doubt with his friend John
Spence in 1987, and asked the always effervescent Gwen to join on
as co-vocalist with Spence. Tony Kanal joined the group a little
later, and the trio began to gain popularity by playing at local
parties.
But the party was over when Spence committed suicide in 1987, which
left Gwen to move up the ranks to lead vocalist. The show must go
on, and it did, as No Doubt continued to perform in local gigs. In
the meantime, Gwen had graduated high school, and followed up her
studies at Cal State Fullerton College.
Gwen Stefani was forced to juggle the band, her
studies, as well as what turned out to be a 7-year long romance with
fellow
band member, Tony
Kanal. In 1989, two new members joined the No Doubt team, guitarist
Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young. After No Doubt was really attracting
a fan base (thanks mostly to their energetic live performances),
Flea, the bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded a demo for
the band in 1990, which led to their signing with Interscope Records.
In 1992, the band released their self-titled debut, but despite
the substantial following the band had garnered, the album was far
from a commercial success. Their record company was losing faith
in their potential, but No Doubt's persistence did not waver.
The group went back into the studio with
their own money, and recorded a collection of "extra" songs
they had written. Their sophomore effort, The Beacon Street Collection,
was released in 1995, and not
only struck a cord with their devout fans, but also re-sparked Interscope's
confidence in the band.
No Doubt was back in business and returned to the recording studio
with the support of their record company. The fruit of their effort
was the hugely successful Tragic Kingdom, only this one was sans
Eric Stefani, who left to become an animator on The Simpsons.
1995's Tragic Kingdom broke through the charts
with its debut single, "Just
A Girl", with the help of the punk-tinged catchy lyrics and
an accompanying colorful video. The album went on to spawn hits such
as "Spiderwebs" and the super smash hit, "Don't Speak".
The latter was written as an ode to the former relationship of Gwen
and Tony, and must have struck a Spanish guitar chord with the public
since the single has become the band's biggest smash to date and
topped charts worldwide.
The album went on to become a Billboard Number One, and garnered
two Grammy nominations for the group.
No Doubt's most recent release, Return of
Saturn, hit the music scene in 2000, and spawned the hits "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Simple
Kind of Life".
Gwen Stefani is still romantically linked with
the lead singer of Bush, Gavin Rossdale, and the rock star pair have
been
involved for at
least 5 years.
But the spunky singer paired up with Moby
to add her infectious voice to his single, "South Side".
No doubt about it, the self-proclaimed Sound of Music fanatic brings
a girly yet powerful
spark to the group, and the music |