Gwen Renee Stefani was born in Orange County, California, USA on October 3, 1969 to Dennis and Patti. She has two brothers, Eric and Todd, and a sister, Jill, the four of them brought up in a protective Catholic home.
Gwen was the stereotypical girl growing up. She played dolls, house, dress up, etc, but even back then she was a bit of a singer. Eric would beg her to sing for him and she would play with the piano. "She had a great voice and was really cute.." Her parents are even folk singers from long ago. She loved musicals like The Sound of Music and Evita.
Gwen also did water ballet and soccer. By the age of 12 her mother had enforced a strict diet because of her obese grandmother.
During school, Gwen played piccolo in the marching band and hated math. She had no self-confidence and no creativity. Then her life took a big turn when her brother Eric brought home a record by a group called Madness. She started hanging out with the punks, making her own clothes
After high school, she attended Cal State Fullerton College. In 1987, Eric and a friend of his named John Spence started a band entitled No Doubt. Eric asked Gwen, who had a love for punk and ska music, to join as co-vocalist with Spence, which she accepted.
When Spence committed suicide, Gwen was moved to lead vocalist and despite the hardship, the band did plenty of local gigs. In 1990 they were finally signed on with Interscope Records, releasing their self entitled debut album in 1992.
When Gwen's 7 year relationship with No Doubt's bass player Tony Kanal ended, she wrote the song "Don't Speak" for the "Tragic Kingdom" album. The song was destined to become the band's biggest smash hit to date.
Gwen wishes to be an actress and it is rumored that she is negotiating with MGM. |
