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Gwen Stefani's sweet life
From pop-punk queen to fashion icon and celebrity mom, Gwen Stefani has forged a one-woman empire.
By Kerry Potter
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A weighty issue
Now that Stefani's back in her size 6 jeans, what does she think of the size 0 debate? "It sucks that that is what is supposed to look good and what everyone strives to be," she says. "There's more to life than being on a diet. Clearly, I spend time thinking about my weight; it's something I've had to deal with in my life. But as I get older, I try not to focus on it -- it's boring and a waste of life. What I have learned is that people don't seem to mind whether I'm fatter or thinner -- they like me either way. It's more of a big deal in your own mind than in anyone else's." She's similarly level-headed on womankind's other favourite obsession: cosmetic surgery. "Each to their own," she says. "I enjoy a great surgery TV show as much as anyone -- I watched a lot of those shows when I was pregnant -- but it's pretty bizarre that that's where we're at: that you can place an order for how you want to look. People take it pretty lightly, but it's a big deal. I've thought it over, but I'm not at that stage yet."
Life in a dual-rock-star household
When she's not making records or designing clothes for L.A.M.B., Stefani likes lying around, watching TV and doing nothing with her son and her husband in their new home in Los Angeles. (They have another house in London's Primrose Hill but spend the majority of their time on the West Coast at the moment.) Stefani and Rossdale met in 1995, when she was touring with her ska-punk band, No Doubt, and he was doing the same with Bush. After conducting an on-again, off-again romance for years -- they were often kept apart by touring commitments -- they eventually got serious and married in 2002. Is it hard living in a dual-rock-star household? "There are positives and negatives, but, for the most part, it works," she admits. "He can tell me about things that are going well or badly, and I can totally relate to them. But when we're both working, it's hard to see each other." They try to keep those job-related absences to a minimum. "We know that it starts to get messed up after three weeks," she says. "We were very lucky to find each other, and we have this crazy ongoing love affair that has hills and valleys like everyone else." Presumably, one of those valleys was the discovery in 2004 that Rossdale is the father of his old friend Pearl Lowe's then-15-year-old daughter, Daisy. The DNA paternity test and subsequent court case -- the outcome of which has never been made public -- were said to have upset Stefani, but the marriage survived and she has moved on. "Having Kingston has been the most romantic thing to happen to us," she says.
The Pit-Jolies and the Stefani-Rossdales
As is often the case with new parents, the Stefani-Rossdales enjoy hanging out with other couples with kids. One of those couples is Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. "We saw them after we had our babies, which was really fun," she says. Stefani melts when asked if Shiloh and Kingston played together. "Yeah! They were like two little blobs when they met." Maybe they'll get married when they grow up? "That would be cute!"
No Doubt
Stefani's new album, The Sweet Escape, is the delayed (blame Kingston) follow-up to Love. Angel. Music. Baby., Stefani's phenomenally successful solo debut in 2004. It marked a departure from No Doubt's trademark ska-punk sound into hip hop, dance and pure pop. She has been with No Doubt -- which is currently on hiatus -- since she was 17. It was her older brother Eric's band (he later left to become an animator on The Simpsons), but after the suicide of depressed lead singer John Spence in 1987, the band decided to regroup with Eric's little sister on lead vocals. They plugged away on the local Californian rock scene for many years, living on a smelly tour bus and out of a suitcase. Stefani was certainly no overnight teen pop sensation: it wasn't until their number one single "Don't Speak" in 1997 (remember her blue polka-dot vintage tea dress in the video?) that No Doubt struck gold and Stefani found her songwriting mojo. The song detailed her painful split from Tony Kanal, her bandmate and boyfriend of seven years, but, despite effectively washing their dirty relationship linen in public, the two remain close friends to this day.
Image courtesy of Lester Cohen/WireImage.com
What do you think of Gwen's style? Share your thoughts with other ELLE Canada readers in our forums!
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