Gwen Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer from Fullerton, California. She is best known as the lead vocalist of No Doubt, and her work spans alternative pop, contemporary R&B, dance-pop, electropop, pop and pop rap.

Early career with No Doubt

Stefani first comes to prominence with No Doubt, where she sings on hit singles including “Just a Girl”, “Spiderwebs” and “Don’t Speak” from Tragic Kingdom (1995), as well as “Hey Baby” and “It’s My Life” from later releases. She is also part of Artists Against AIDS Worldwide.

Solo career

During No Doubt’s hiatus, Stefani begins a solo career with Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album draws on 1980s pop and produces the singles “What You Waiting For?”, “Rich Girl”, “Hollaback Girl” and “Cool”. “Hollaback Girl” reaches number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becomes the first digital download in the United States to sell more than one million copies.

Her second solo album, The Sweet Escape (2006), includes “Wind It Up” and “The Sweet Escape”; the title track places third on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 chart in 2007. Her third solo album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like (2016), becomes her first solo record to reach number one on the Billboard 200. You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017) is her first full-length Christmas album and places 19 songs on Billboard’s Holiday Digital Song Sales chart. In collaboration with Blake Shelton, she releases singles including “Nobody but You” (2020), which reaches number 18 in the United States. Her fifth studio album, Bouquet, follows in 2024.

Fashion and recognition

Outside music, Stefani launches the fashion label L.A.M.B. in 2003 and expands it in 2005 with Harajuku Lovers, a line inspired by Japanese culture and street fashion. Her career includes three Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, a Brit Award, a World Music Award and two Billboard Music Awards. She receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023. Billboard ranks her 54th among the most successful artists and 37th among Hot 100 artists of the 2000s decade, and VH1 places her 13th on its 2012 list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music.