When queen of cool, Gwen Stefani, scheduled downtime with CG!, we hit her with your must-know questions on guys, fashion and, erm, bananas…

I love your solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Would you have tried this kind of music if you were still in No Doubt? Louise, 15, Essex
What happened was we’d made made a record and after that we said, “We’re going on a break.” No Doubt had never taken a break in 17 years. So I said to Tony [Kamal, No Doubt bass player and Gwen's ex], “Wouldn’t it be fun to do a dance record while we’re on the break, the sort of fun songs we listened to in high school?” So the idea was to work with new people and then return to No Doubt, but I never thought my solo album would be this successful.

What is it with your banana obsession? Hannah, 15, Boston
I’m very fond of bananas, but not [puts on a stuffy Englsih accent] “bananas!” When we were writing Hollaback Girl I was looking at tons of different cheers. I wasn’t a cheerleader myself, but in the US all these different traditional cheers are sung at games and the banana cheer is a famous one. Well obviously the ’shit’ part isn’t in it!

How do you deal with fame? Where do you hide? Susie, 17, Southampton
I don’t hide. Fame’s one of those things it’s hard to describe until you experience it, no one prepares you. If I’m feeling sorry for myself, or feeling fat and ugly, or any of the things that might put me in a bad mood, I don’t leave the house! I know it won’t last forever though so I just try to enjoy it. I’m lucky.

What’s the best thing about your job? Sophie, 14, Derbyshire
Lately it’s felt like I have a thousand jobs and they’re all great. It’s awesome to get to a point where you’re surrounded by unbelievably talented people and you earned it through years of extremely hard work.

Do you see yourself as a role model? Ellie, 18, West Midlands
After so long in the business I am aware of it. For the longest time it was just people like me at our shows, there wasn’t an age difference, but now it’s so varied. I watch certain words I would have said on stage. You do feel slightly responsible. People have asked me to endorse products, but I’ve said no. But I don’t live my life by it. I don’t say, “It’s my life. I never asked to be a role model.” I just try to be a good person.

Hey Gwen! You’re my total idol, but who are yours? Christina, 14, Ascot
Because of the bands I like, I had tons of guy idols. I was into Madness and a group called Fishbone. I’ve always like Julie Andrews, I’m a huge fan. I’ve met so many people I’ve looked up to. Sometimes, it’s not that they disappoint you, but you lose your fantasy of them a little. But everybody I’ve met has been cool, I’ve never met an idol and thought, “Oh no, I hate them!”

Hi Gwen, can you help with some guy advice? You must have loads of admirers, how can you tell when a guy likes you? Lauren, 15, Leeds
That’s where I can’t help you Lauren, because I’ve only had two boyfriends in my entire life! I’d die if I had to go on a date. I live through all my friends’ love lives and they tell me about flirting and stuff and I’m like “Oh my gosh!” So I don’t have any love advice, I’m afraid. If you listen to my songs you can see I don’t have a clue!

You seem like a strong woman. Who wears the trousers in your relationship with Gavin? Teresa, 15, Lincoln
I think we balance each other out, that’s why we’re in love. Neither of us rules the house. It’s our little sacred world and I don’t give much out about it. But I have to say my husband balances me out.

How do you walk in those ginormous shoes you wear? Fiona, 14, Dundee
I’ve always wanted to wear heels since I was a little girl. Now I’m all grown up I wear them as much as I can. The higher the better. But it definitely takes practice.

What’s all this Harajuku stuff about? Racheal, 17, South Wales
Harajuku is a shopping district in Tokyo and when I first went there I felt like I’d come home. It was like another planet, but the planet I was meant to be on. It’s so cool where kids hang on weekends. They’ve got a real sense of style and it’s all about showing off your personality through fashion. I had a fantasy about getting myself some Harajuku girls and the next thing I knew it was true.

Do you make your outfits? Diane, 18, Peterborough
Yeah, it’s all part of the creative plan. I think the visuals on Love. Angel. Music. Baby. are equally as important as the music. It’s just beginning in a way because I’m starting a clothing line called Harajuku Lovers that’s for the fans. I created a range called LAMB, that’s like my fashion line that is really for me. But Harajuku Lovers is almost like a Hello Kitty line. It’s crazy and cute!

She’s gone from high school geek to superstar icon, but Gwen still worries about her bod like the rest of us

Gwendolyn Renee Stefani is so cool we get frostbite just from looking at her, but it hasn’t always been this way for the Californian superstar. So how did the school misfit super-size her street cred? She shares her secrets with bliss…

Have you always been a super-trendy musical genius? We bet you were the popular one at school…
Nooo! I wasn’t a cheerleader or in the choir and I didn’t have loads of friends. I thought I could never influence anyone. My whole room was plastered with Marilyn Monroe posters and I always drew myself as a bride when my teachers asked me to draw myself as a grown-up.

So didn’t fashion matter to you as a teenager?
I wore my sports shirt and zip-up  sweatshirt every day. But when I hit puberty and found music, all of a sudden I wanted to be unique. I did a lot of sewing and thrift-store shopping. I made three or four dresses which came from a pattern I created myself.

And now you’ve got your own clothing line, L.A.M.B…
It’s a dream come true. My mom made my clothes, her mom made all hers. It’s in my blood.

Did your mum used to tell you what to wear?
Mom was really conservative – everything was plain and simple. I couldn’t wait to rip my shirts and cut things up!

You sometimes name-check fashion designers in your songs – does it get you freebies?
They don’t give me free clothes. I did it because I think they’re rad.

While you were in high school, your big bro Eric formed your band No Doubt. Did he inspire you?
Everything Eric was into, I got into. He’s super-creative and he was this high school cartoonist and had wild artist friends. I don’t know if he was cool or not. He seemed cool to me.

Was it hard being the only girl in the band?
Yeah, people assumed I was a tag-along girlfriend or a groupie.

If you were such a ‘dork’, what changed and made you so cool?
Once I learned how to write songs, it was like I was human. Before that I was just this girl.

Did you go to a lot of gigs and thrash it out with the guys in the moshpit?
Not in the pit. To me, being in the mosh pit just to beat someone up is like the weirdest thing. It’s like a bunch of guys with a BIG excuse to feel each other up.

Did a load of rock lads try to pull you?
I’ve only had two boyfriends in my life, y’know. I once made out with the keyboard player from Fishbone ['80s rock band], and he tried to take advantage of the situation and I was NOT about to let him.

But you’ve bagged an English rockstar hubby [Gwen's married to Bush singer Gavin Rossdale]…
Well, if I ever sound English, slap me! No, seriously, I totally scored. I’m a big, huge pig, I love eating and I married a guy who loves to cook. My husband is amazing. I can’t fight with him because I just start crying. Period week, I cry a lot.

Have you always been super-fit?
My weight is a struggle for me, like all girls. It’s something we all deal with. But now I have no rituals. If I look bad one day, who cares?

What’s it like being seen as an international sex-bomb?
Dude, my overall thing isn’t sexy. A girl wants to look sexy, but what’s more important is that people take you seriously as a human.

What’s next for you, then?
I’d love to learn to play something so I don’t have to rely on someone to collaborate with. I’ve written songs on the guitar but I don’t play well enough to be free. If I could play every chord, I could write a million songs.
I want to appear in more movies and I want to add to my clothing line. I also want to just have time to sleep… and I want a baby. That would suit me just fine.

Did you know?

10 random facts about our Gwen

1. Her Harajuku girls,  who go with her everywhere, are named after Harajuku Station, a place in Japan where ultra-cool teens hang out.
2. Her first job was selling ice-cream and cakes in a fast food joint called Dairy Queen.
3. She lived at home with her parents until she was 30!
4. She had one line in the film The Aviator, playing actress Jean Harlow alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
5. She sometimes checks into hotels under the pseudonym of Daria Blue.
6. Her cool cartoonist brother Eric is now an animator for The Simpsons.
7. Her clothing line LAMB and album, Love, Angel, Music, Baby (aka LAMB) are named after her childhood dog, you guessed it LAMB.
8. She married Bush’s Gavin Rossdale in 2002 after going out with him for six years.
9. Gwen wore a pink and white wedding dress on her big day, and hubby Gavin was walked down the aisle by his dog Winston!
10. Fans who copy her style are called Gwenabees!