Gwen Stefani

Born in 1969 in Fullerton, California and raised in Anaheim, Gwen Stefani first made her mark in the early 1990s as the voice and lyricist of the band No Doubt, which blended ska punk, new wave and pop rock on the US West Coast scene. With No Doubt she developed a mix of driving guitars, reggae-inspired rhythms and songwriting that is both sentimental and ironic, quickly placing her at the forefront of the American alternative wave. From 2004 she pursued a parallel solo career more clearly oriented toward pop and R&B with the album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., dominated by dance, electro-pop and hip-hop influences; she continued in that vein with The Sweet Escape in 2006, featuring collaborations with artists such as Eve and Pharrell Williams. After returning to the studio with No Doubt in the 2010s, she resumed her solo work with This Is What the Truth Feels Like (2016) and the more traditional Christmas record You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017). Also active on US television as a coach on The Voice, Gwen Stefani has since alternated between tours, contemporary-sounding pop releases and occasional collaborations, remaining identifiable by her bright timbre and a persona that blends Californian culture, urban influences and retro imagery.