Gwendolyn Renée Stefani (born October 3, 1969) is an American singer and actress, and is the frontwoman of the ska/rock band No Doubt. Stefani began enjoying mainstream success with the release of No Doubt's 1995 album Tragic Kingdom, which spawned hits such as "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs", and "Don't Speak". Follow-up albums did not match the sales of Tragic Kingdom, but were successful on different levels of popularity and genre. In 2004, Gwen Stefani wrote and recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., for which she consulted producers The Neptunes, singer-songwriter Linda Perry and OutKast frontman André 3000, among others. The album contained pop music and dance music tracks, including hip hop and slow jam-influences. The third single "Hollaback Girl" was a very successful international single, and became the first U.S. digital single to exceed sales of one million. Stefani was born in Anaheim, California. Her father, Denis Stefani, is Italian American, and her mother Patti Flynn is of Irish and Scottish descent. She has a sister, Jill, and two brothers, Eric and Todd. Jill appeared in No Doubt's "Just A Girl" music video. Gwen Stefani attended California State University, Fullerton, and Loara High School (class of 1987), where she was on the swim team. Her first job was scrubbing floors at a Dairy Queen, and she once worked at a department store. Her brother Eric was the keyboardist for No Doubt, but eventually left the band to pursue a career in animation on The Simpsons. Other members of the group include Tony Kanal (with whom Stefani had a seven year relationship), Tom Dumont, and drummer Adrian Young. On September 14, 2002, Stefani married Gavin Rossdale, former lead singer of the band Bush. In 2003, No Doubt took an unlimited break to concentrate on other projects; Stefani pursued a solo career, releasing the album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. to great success. The band's third album, following their eponymous debut No Doubt (1992) and The Beacon Street Collection (1995), 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." Following the success of "Tragic Kingdom," Stefani became highly popular and recognizable; the tension this produced with the other members of the band was touched upon in their video for the song "Don't Speak." Many of the album's songs, including "Don't Speak" and "Spiderwebs," were inspired by Stefani's relationship and breakup with fellow band member Tony Kanal. Stefani had dated Kanal for seven years until he ended the relationship. She slipped into depression after touring for Tragic Kingdom." Stefani met Bush guitarist Gavin Rossdale in 1995 at a concert in which she was performing to promote Tragic Kingdom." No Doubt went on to tour and won Group award at the Grammys, the release of The Singles 1992-2003," a CD with the band's best hits, and Everything in Time: B-sides, Remixes and Rarities prompted media speculation about a break-up, which the band denied in later interviews. In December 2005, it was reported by US Weekly that Stefani is pregnant with her first child, due in June 2006.[1]. The father is Stefani's husband Gavin Rossdale, who also has a 16 year old daughter from a previous relationship.
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