Gwen Stefani has led an eventful life, and seems always to have enjoyed music, especially the ska which her brother Eric exposed her to at a crucial time in her development as a musician. But let's go back to the very beginning, and catch a glimpse of where Gwen actually comes from...

Stefani was born in Orange County, California. Her father Denis is Italian and her mother Patti is of English and Scottish descent. She has a sister, Jill and two brothers, Eric and Todd. She attended Cal State Fullerton, and in high school she was on the swimming team because she was chubby. Her first job was scrubbing floors at a Dairy Queen and she once worked at a department store. Her brother Eric founded No Doubt in 1986 with his friend John Spence, but eventually left the band to pursue a career in animation on The Simpsons. He was the keyboardist for No Doubt. Gwen became the group's lead singer after original frontman John Spence committed suicide in December of 1987.

The band's third album, 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 on by their video for the song "Don't Speak". Many of the album's songs, including "Don't Speak", were inspired by Stefani's relationship and breakup with fellow band member Tony Kanal. Gwen had dated Kanal for eight years until he ended the relationship because he needed more space. She slipped into depression after touring for Tragic Kingdom.

Stefani met Bush guitarist Gavin Rossdale in 1996 at a concert she was playing with No Doubt. On September 14, 2002, they were married.

Thus far, her solo career has been most recognized for a pair of popular 2001 duets, the "Southside" remix with techno artist Moby and "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with rapper Eve. In fact, Stefani became the first artist in history to win both Best Male Video and Best Female Video awards at the MTV VMAs, for "Southside" (credited as "Moby featuring Gwen Stefani") and "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (credited as "Eve featuring Gwen Stefani") respectively, both in 2001. Stefani has a solo record, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, that was released in America on November 23, 2004. The first single released is "What You Waiting For?" It debuted at #1 on the Australian ARIAnet singles chart and #4 on the UK chart.

Gwen created a successful fashion line, named L.A.M.B, which showcases clothing which Gwen would wear herself. The line also includes handbags and purses. Celebrities such as Nicky Hilton, Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, Nicole Richie, Jenny McCarthy, Alicia Keys and Halle Berry have been seen sporting her fashion line and LeSportsac bags.

Stefani's nicknames are Sunshine and G-loc. Her height is 1.68m. She is dyslexic. Stefani's trademarks are her red lipstick and her blond hair. She likes to listen to bands like 311, Blur, Radiohead and Jamiroquai. Her favorite food is sushi and her favorite pizza toppings are everything except sausage, pepperoni and anchovies. She had her voice in Malice, an unreleased PS2 and Xbox video game. Gwen hasn't seen her natural hair color since 7th or 8th grade.

Girls and young women who imitate Stefani's distinctive and trend setting style of dress which is described as crazy, wild but cool are sometimes referred to as "Gwenabees".

She made her acting debut in a small role playing Jean Harlow in the 2004 Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator.

Her debut album, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, managed to sell more albums in its first week than any No Doubt album (350,000 copies), debuting at number 7, impressive for a debut solo artist. Her album has been certified platinum (1,000,000 sold) after only four weeks of sales.