Birth name: Gwen Renée Stefani
Date of birth: 3 October 1969
Place of birth: Fullerton, California
Career highlights: Best Rap Song Grammy Award 2001
Highest charting singles: Can I Have It Like That, number three, 2005, Rich Girl, number four, 2005, Let Me Blow Ya Mind, number four, 2001

Gwen’s mother named her after a stewardess in the best-selling 1968 novel Airport, and her middle name, Renée, comes from The Left Banke’s 1968 song. She began dieting at 10 years old and worked cleaning floors at a fast food joint and on a make-up counter during her teens.

Gwen began singing in her brother’s new wave Ska band No Doubt in 1986, sged 17, but it wasn’t until their third album Tragic Kingdom was released in 1995 that Gwen rocketed into the spotlight.

The band released a string of mediocre albums until Gwen took the plunge in 2004 and went it alone.

Her debut solo album Love.Angel.Music.Baby was released in November 2004 and got to number four in the UK album charts.

Now she is a style icon, supreme popstrel and record breaker – her single Hollaback Girl was the first track to sell one million downloads in the US.

Outside of music, Gwen launched a Japanese fashion inspired clothing range called L.A.M.B. in 2003, and appeared in Martin Scorsese’s film The Aviator as Jean Harlow.

In 2006 she had a baby, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale with husband Gavin Rossdale, front man of US rock band Bush.