Also in the scans were these gorgeous adverts from Gwen’s line of LeSportsac bags, I think these are from the first and second seasons respectively.

If you have scans to donate you can upload them using the contact form or send them to christinasparkle [AT] hotmail.co.uk

She’s the consummate multi-tasker

Grammy-winning frontwoman of No Doubt, multiplatinum solo artist, deisgner of two clothing lines, wife of rocker Gavin Rossdale and, in less than two months, mother of their first child. Last week, at home in her 1923 Spanish-style home in Los Feliz, Ca., Gwen Stefani still looked the part, wearing maternity jeans, a vintage sweater dress belted above her bump and Rasta-hued Christian Louboutin espadrilles. In her first sit-down interview since announcing her pregnancy, Stefani opened up about her music, her fashion career, her body and her great expectations.
You seem happy to be hanging out at home.
I love this place so much. I’ve been here since about 1998, right after the Tragic Kingdom album. I moved out of my parents’ house into this, and I finally got my studio done. But obviously, we’re probably going to to have to move once I have the baby. My husband wants to write songs, and there’s no more room. He can’t have a studio next to the baby’s room. This house is really great for singing if you’re the only person in it.

How are you feeling today?
Right now I’m sort of in lazy mode. I’m obsessed with watching TV and eating [laughs]. But seriously, this is great. It’s the first time I’ve had to focus on designing since I’ve kind of put the music on hold, and it’s been really fun. Everyone comes to the house and we sit here in the living room and have cookies and design. It feels good not to be double-dipping the whole time, because when you are performing, touring and doing appearances, it’s hard to balance both. It takes a lot of energy. The week before, I worked on L.A.M.B. spring 2007 three full days straight and we rolled into Harajuku Lovers that Thursday. After a certain point, it gets hard to see straight.

Compare Harajuku Lovers and L.A.M.B.
There’s nothing to be compared about the two, but at the same time, it’s a challenge for them not to copy each other, because they’re both me. L.A.M.B.’s my serious art project and my passion, and Harajuku Lovers is part of a bigger picture. With music, you do the actual songs, the videos, the artwork, the Web site and now you can do clothes to go with it. So that’s all one big creative pile.

Describe the creative process behind L.A.M.B.
I used to get really bummed about having to drop something, or if things didn’t work out. Now I just realize it’s going to come, and if I don’t get to it in one collection, I can do it in the next. It’s not as hard as music because the ideas just seem to come. With [fall 2006] for instance, a girlfriend of mine wore this dress when we were in Lake Como doing the video for ”Cool” and it became one of the inspirations, a toal 1950s, Marilyn Monroe-on-the-beach thing. It was very specific, whereas [spring 2007] is a little broader, but it definitely has a theme. I don’t want to give it away, but we just did the sketches and it’s going really well.

What do you love most about designing?
It’s not the outcome or the product. At the end of the day, it’s the actual process that I enjoy and it’s also the potential with everything. It’s the same with songwriting. I never listen to the record, but I listen to the demos an embarrassing amount of times because it’s the potential of what the song could be or what a bag could be.

What do bags mean to you?
I never carried a bag before I did the LeSportSac line. I just always felt like it was too much of a fiddly, girly thing. I’ve been in a band for 20 years years with all guys. I had a backpack, you know? Now I feel I never will have enough bags because when I leave the house, [paparazzi] always take pictures, and if I wear a bag like two or three times, they are like, ‘Whoa, she’s wearing the same bag!’ But so does everyone else.

What is it like to see girls and women wearing your products?
At first it was really uncomfortable putting it out there, but the reaction was so warm. It’s not quite as emotional [as music], but when you find something that’s your thing… I’ve seen people own those bags like they made them, walking across the street like it defines who they are. And that’s where it started.

Even after seven L.A.M.B. collections, do you ever feel like a fashion novice?
I didn’t go to school for this, but making clothes is something I’ve done my whole life, so it’s not new to me – but at this level, of course, it’s brand new. I don’t know anything, but I enjoy that and the whole vibe of the fashion world, even though I don’t know the rules. I’m just making my thing and hope that people enjoy it and apprecaite the stage I’m at. You can’t expect it to be anything more than it is.

What’s next, design-wise?
With L.A.M.B., I definitely want to focus on the bags, but I’m still doing the tennis shoes. I also convinced the tennis shoes to make boots, and now we are doing stilettos. I’m also doing watches. You can imagine the amount of artwork and e-mails that I have to approve, so I don’t really want to take on too much. But I want to do lingerie and makeup at some point. I want to do everything, eventually.

What about baby clothes?
It’s easy to downsize for kids and babies in Harajuku Lovers, but apart from that, I’m not going there. But we are doing some L.A.M.B. baby tennis shoes, little gold ones. You wouldn’t believe it. They are so cute. They are ridiculous.

How are you dealing with your ever-changing shape?
I’m sick of maternity clothes, but people are really sweet. No matter how big I feel, they say, ‘Well, you look cute’.  My body’s changing every week. I’ve gained eight pounds in the last month alone, but it’s all going to be worth it. And my husband has made me some really great meals and I’ve been eating whatever I want, trying to enjoy the moment. There’s only one time it happens for the first time.

Is it hard for someone as active as you to see yourself gain weight and slow down when all you want to do is jump around?
Well, I’m looking forward to my [post-pregnancy] diet. And then I’m going to train. But I have been working out. That’s the one thing I’ve been strict about, three days a week with a trainer. You should have seen me try to work out this morning. Oh, my God, it’s getting so hard. I do those stairs up there [pointing to the terraced steps behind her house].

What’s next, music-wise?
I have some songs that are left over from my last record, and I wrote four new songs as I was finishing it. One of them is called ”Orange County Girl”, which is one of my favorite songs ever. It’s really close to being done, but as time goes by, I might have to write some new ones to freshen it up. I went in the studio and I’ve been trying to write, but it just hasn’t come, so I’ve finally gotten to a place of guilt-free relaxation. I will try again, but now is obviously not the right time. But I want to put that record out. It would be a waste not to.

What about No Doubt?
I’m going to go back in the studio with the band to try and see what we can do together, which is going to be a huge, weird reunion. We don’t know if we go back what kind of music we’ll write, if we can write. We just don’t know. And then, being a mom… I don’t know what that’s going to be like.

It seems like a very transitional time for you.
Yes, everything is new for me right now, It’s a weird crossroads, the beginning of a lot, the closure of a lot. This is all about nesting and getting inspired. But [making a downward whooshing motion above her belly] I know one thing is coming out for sure!

Equal parts punkette and starlet, gwen Stefani is about to go super-stellar. Scorsese’s new star and pop’s hottest hybrid, she’s far from just a girl, says Charlotte Sinclair. Photographs by Lorenzo Agius. Styled by Andrea Lieberman.

Gwen Stefani is half way through our cover shoot when there’s a security breach at the country house that’s serving as our location. While on a tour of the building, a group of blue-rinsed ladies stumble into the music room where Gwen is being photographed. If the peroxide blonde with flowers in her hairs stirs recognition in the octogenarians, it probably owes more to their memories of Forties starlets than any familiarity with the sexy, stylish, stiletto-wearing tomboy who fronts the Californian rock band No Doubt. Gwen is non-plussed, and smiles graciously, arching a perfectly penciled eyebrow at the group as they are ushered outside outside onto the lawn, their chorus of interest (‘Goodness, wasn’t she pretty?’ and ‘Who was that?’) drifting in through the open window as the shoot resumes. The renegade OAPs could be forgiven for their ignorance, but Gwen Stefani – whose currency as a bona fide rock chick, fashion icon and budding actress is already soaring – is about to hit the big time.

A few days previously, I was led into a closed room as St Martins Lane hotel to listen to exclusive tracks from Stefani’s new solo album, Love Angel Music Baby. The clandestine circumstances say much about her exalted status. With the kind of secrecy usually reserved for top-selling global artists such as U2 and Madonna, I was allowed only a supervised listening of three of Stefani’s new tracks, the words of which I had to frantically scribble down before the lyric sheets were snatched back at the end of the session. There was no question of taking the CD home. The album is her ’side project’ – her first record without the No Doubt boys (ex-boyfriend and bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont, and drummer Adrian Young). As well as representing her solo debut, it marks her initiation into a more mainstream sound.

‘I had a very clear idea of the kind of record I wanted to make, as far as style and sound goes,’ says Stefani later. ‘I wanted to sound like Prince, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam and Club Nouveau.’ But the change in direction is not a snub to No Doubt’s sound. ‘It’s not like, “Gi, I’m Gwen Stefani and this is me; these are my true feelings because I’ve been compromising all these years,” ‘ she says. ‘That was the true me the whole time.’ The songs, upbeat dance tracks with a strong Eighties influence and plenty of attitude, include her first single, ‘What You Waiting For?’, produced with Linda Perry (who has written songs for Christina Aguilera and Cortney Love), and ‘Bubble Pop Electric,’ a frenetic beat-filled track produced with Andre 3000 of OutKast. The Neptunes, Dr Dre and New Order are among other collaborators. Gwen’s voice switches from a tremulous vibrato reminiscent of Kate Bush in ‘Cool’, a wistful song about past love, to a throaty Debbie Harry growl for such lines as ‘I’m itching, wish you could come and scratch me’ in ‘Bubble Pop Electric’.

Stefani’s half-street, half-sweet image reveals the contradictions in her. With an English husband (36-year-old Gavin Rossdale of the rock band Bush), a Primrose Hill pad whose elegance equals her own, and wholesome moral principles, commited Catholic Stefani has a classic, ladylike appeal. But equally, she’s a down-and-dirty riot-grrrl from Anaheim, CA, who has spent the past 17 years playing with the boys and sporadically dying her hair blue. ‘Being a girl in a band,’ she explains, ‘means that I want to do my own hair and wear cute clothes – but, when I get on stage, I want to rock out.’

Gwen has garnered a solid fanbase with No Doubt (with whom she has sold more than 25 million records and won three Grammys), but this temporary break from the band, plus her designs for burgeoning clothing line L.A.M.B, and a small but potentially career-break acting role as Jean Harlow in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, mean that everyone is watching Stefani now. As Missy Elliot, with whom she performed at the 2004 Brit Awards, says: ‘When Gwen does this, it’s not going to be just another record; it’s going to be an event.’

However, if she’s feeling the pressure, it’s not showing. It’s a yawning, sleep-fogged Stefani who walks into the old manor-house for our shoot. Pushing open the huge oak doors into the Tudor hallway, wearing a white tracksuit and trainers, she says in her surprisingly little voice: ‘This place is ridiculous!’ ‘Ridiculous’ and ’sick’ (Californian teen patois for fabulous) are trademark Stefani words that, sprinkled into conversation along with ‘dude’, ‘crazy’, and ‘magic’, make her sound younger than her years. She is someone who is visually defined by her make-up – the indelible slash of red lipstick, the long black Cleopatra kohl line on her eyelids – so her bare face comes as a shock. She stands in the dim and dusty hall, her skin clear and almost translucent, and her face dominated by huge brown eyes. A sliver of her famous washboard stomach flashes at her waist as she pushes away a strand of white-blonde hair from her eyes. ‘She ruined her hair on tour with bleach and hair pieces,’ says her stylist and friend Andrea Lieberman. You’ve got to admire Stefani’s commitment to peroxide. She even dedicated a song to her ravaged locks on No Doubt’s last album (the dancehall-influenced outrageously catchy Rock Steady), called ‘Platinum Blonde Life’: ‘I want a platinum blonde life/So I keep bleaching out the color.’

Against the back drop of faded glamour, Gwen plays the imperious and errant lady of the manor for the camera. She sings along to one of her new tracks, ‘It’s My Shit’, standing on the lawn in a floor length silver sheath dress.’ ‘Damn,’ she shouts over herself. ‘This song doesn’t match my dress.’ Stefani plays her part with élan, at one point standing in a revealing silk basque, throwing her head back, her hand on her forehead in mock faint, as 16 spectators look on. ‘Oh my God!’ she yells cheerfully on seeing the Polaroid. ‘Dude, I look like a mannequin. I had to wear this dress yesterday that was so tight my kidneys were squashed to hell,’ she adds. ‘It was amazing.’

Gwen Stefani has been experiencing a renaissance over the past couple of years. At 34 years old, she has become the kind of celebrity whose presence in the front row of a show lends instant kudos to the designer; gossip columnists adore her. At a time when Chloë Sevigny and Sarah Jessica Parker are revered for their offbeat fashion sense and quirky looks, it’s no wonder that Gwen, who can carry off dancehall-inspired ragga wear and Louis Vuitton prom dresses with equal ease, has become a style leader. And all without losing a shred of musical credibility. A collaboration with Moby, the ghetto-fabulous parody ‘South Side’ brought her to a new dance audience in 2000. Moby said: ‘She’s incredibly technically proficient and just a really remarkable singer.’ And last year’s hit, ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’, produced with rapper Eve, gave her approval with the hip-hop crowd, and further cross-genre appeal. The Eve video, the first for which Stefani used a stylist (‘Before that I always did everything myself’), also launched her new look: a slicker, slimmer Gwen whose colourful style had been refined with ‘that bling R’n'B lustre’, according to Danny Eccleston of Q magazine.

Sitting in a dusty armchair in an attic room filled, appropriately with vintage costumes, Gwen Stefani is voluble, launching straight into the story of her album. ‘I’m just going to go for it, OK?’ She is refreshingly honest and artless throughout, readily admitting her insecurities in going solo. ‘I don’t really know why I’m doing this record, either,’ she says. ‘I’m just as scared as the fans are for me, and I have been uptight about the whole thing. But I just want to do it.’ Stefani also understands how exacting her standards are. She tells me about a quarrel with Linda Perry over a song they wrote called ‘Wonderful Life For Him’ about Stefani’s first high-school crush, who died a few years ago. ‘I wasn’t finding the right way to say it, and Linda wrote these lyrics and it was the last straw. I was PMS-ing and just wanted to break out in tears,’ she says, shaking her head. ‘So I left and didn;t go back. But months later when I listened to the song again, it was beautiful – so I ended up recording it.’ She smiles, contritely spreading her hands.

A highly ambitious perfectionist, last year she launched herself into a punishing, itinerant recording schedule. ‘I wanted to take time off to get inspired but I was really feeling the clock. The ongoing joke between me and my husband,’ she says, rolling her eyes, ‘is that we went on vacation to the South of France when I got off the Tragic Kingdom tour. That was seven years ago. And there was our five-day honeymoon, which was the only other vacation we’ve ever had.’ And what of Rossdale? The pair met on a No doubt tour in 1995, when Stefani was 25. After a somewhat shaky courtship (during one break-up, Stefani famously dyed her hair pink, cut a fringe and got braces on her teeth), they married in 2002, once in St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden (‘by a Church of England vicar who was Gavin’s religious-studies teacher’) and once in LA; Gwen wore a John Galliano dress at both ceremonies. ‘It’s great to be married,’ said Gavin at the time. ‘It makes us feel our love is a lot deeper.’ I ask her how she copes with having a long-distance relationship. ‘For years, we were apart, which I think is a great thing when you’re creative people. Anything more than three weeks is really screwed up, and causes problems. But we know that it’s not going to be like this for ever,’ she says. ‘I think marriage goes in spurts. Sometimes you just can’t take it anymore and then, all of a sudden, you’re in love like you just met again.’ Babies are high on Gwen’s list, although when she will find the time is another matter. Fans have expressed concern about whether the couple will have enough time to devote to raising a child. ‘We’re just as worried about it as they are.’ says Stefani. ‘But it’ll happen when it happens.’

Stefani was born in 1969, into a musical family; her childhood memories are of her parents playing Bob Dylan and folk records. In 1986, she was asked to sing with her brother Eric and friend John Spence’s band, No Doubt. When Tony Kanal joined, he and Gwen started dating – he even took her to her senior prom. ‘My mom remade Grace Kelly’s dress from Rear Window for me to wear,’ she says. She has been with the band ever since. (‘I’ve been famous since I was 17 – I could go into Tower Records and be recognised,’ she says proudly, giggling.) But the band nearly collapsed when Spence committed suicide, and Eric departed. It was then that Gwen found her voice as a songwriter; in 1995 the band produced their hit album Tragic Kingdom, which sold more than 16 million copies. ‘Before, I was this Gwen, the little sister or girlfriend, and I was satisfied with that. I thought I could never have any kind of effect on anyone. Then I learnt I could write songs – I realised I had a talent and a power.’

This creative period also coincided with her break-up with Kanal. ‘Suddenly, I was this independent person who was happy and didn’t have to depend on my lover. Before that, I never really had anything of my own.’ The two have remained friends; the lament that resulted from the experience was the No Doubt hit ‘Don’t Speak’. Gwen really can write. Some of her lyrics are beautiful – for example, the phrase ‘Born to blossom and bloom to perish’ in Beauty Contest’. And with references to Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and Janis Joplin on No Doubt’s second album, Return of Saturn, Stefani proved herself to be anything but the dumb blonde.

It was the video for ‘Don’t Speak’, in which Gwen is seen moaning plaintively into a microphone, swaying barefoot in a blue polka-dot dress, that kicked off her reputation as a style leader. ‘I got that dress at a thrift store, five years before we shot the video,’ she says. ‘It smelled so bad that I never wore it. It’s a beautiful fabric, that really old rayon that just hangs beautifully.’ Her knowledge of how a fabric hangs is genuine. ‘It’s in my blood. My grandma made all my mom’s clothes, and my great-grandmother always sewed. Then, all through high school, and in the band, I made my own clothes,’ she says. ‘I used to make corset-style drop-waist dresses with a cheerleader skirt. Underneath I wore my boxer shorts, fishnets and Dr Martens. For years, though, I never wanted to talk about my style because I was more concerned with music.’ However, she now confesses that ‘the visuals on this record are as important as the music.’ She now understands the importance of image innately. ‘I had a very clear idea of how I wanted to look, and I prepared for it.’ She relates the story of her first ‘fashion moment’ with the gusto of a true addict. ‘I bought a Vivienne Westwood corset for $800 – with my own money – and wore it in a video. Then I got to meet her, which was like meeting the Queen. I was just like, “Aarrgh!” ‘

Stefani’s style aesthetic serves as a welcome foil tot he homogeneous Britney look predominant in the music industry. Gone is the unpolished grunge look; in its place is subtle overstatement with lots of colour. Knuckleduster rings and hound’s-tooth check culottes mix with McQueen gowns. Her body is taut and muscular, all traces of the ‘chubby child who had to join the swim team’ erased. ‘I’ve always had to work at it. I have a trainer, and when I’m at home I work out five days a week.’ Standing in a Dior dress with built in hips and a bustle, she says: ‘What was the point of all that dieting? On tour, we all went nuts. We were training all day and by the end of it I was like, “Damn!” I didn’t even recognise my own body. I just wanted to do the show naked.’ And does she feel the pressure to stay thin? ‘Beauty Contest’ has the lyrics: ‘How’d my vanity get such a mess/Reduce myself, I’ve got the strict restrictions.’ Gwen sighs. ‘Even if I wasn’t famous, I’d still feel the pressure because I think we all do.’

Doubtless, she forgives John Galliano for the extra Dior-enhanced curves. Her relationship with him is prolific, and culminated recently in Gwen wearing Dior in the video of No Doubt’s cover of Talk Talk’s ‘It’s My Life’, directed by David LaChapelle. ‘I got invited to my first Christian Dior show, and I cried,’ she says, slipping into ditsy LA speak. ‘I could not believe that someone made that look up.’ The respect is mutual. Galliano says: ‘She has a great energy. I love her personal style – she carries it off with such aplomb.’ Gwen leans forward conspiratorially in her chair. ‘I had John over to dinner the other night. It’s so weird; he was describing the whole couture show that he had just done and then today I’m wearing the dress!’

I ask Gwen if the white angora sweater she’s wearing is Westwood. ‘No, it’s one of my fall pieces. I think it’s gorgeous.’ She’s talking about L.A.M.B (which stands for Love, Angel, Music, Baby), the name of her fledging clothing and accessories line – as well as that of her new album – and yet another feature in her cap. Stefani clearly thrives on multitasking. Her design partner, LeSportsac’s CEO Tim Shifter, had his first encounter with Stefani at a Dior catwalk show. ‘Flashbulbs went off and the paparazzi started going crazy. At that moment I really understood what star she has. She is creative, full of ideas, and really has a sense of what her fans want.’ For Gwen, it is a far more selfish endeavor. ‘I’m not trying to impress anyone except for myself. I sit there and say, “What do I want to wear?” Then I make it.’ She giggles, as if she can’t believe her luck. L.A.M.B bestsellers include her punk-inspired bags with metallic zips. More than a mere vanity project, her bags are selling well. ‘For a while, I thought, “Why am I doing this? I just don’t have the time.” But Andrea helped me, and I’m going to keep getting good at it because I want to do it for ever. I’m not going to be dancing around for the rest of my life.’

An awareness of the limited longevity of the female of the female rock star could explain Stefani’s interest in film roles. ‘I’ve never acted but I always wanted to. I’ve tried out for films before [including Fight Club, Chicago and Girl, Interuppted], which is humiliating but fun.’ Having harboured a fascination with the Forties actress Jean Harlow for years, Gwen was ‘on the floor’ when Martin Scorsese sent her the script for The Aviator. ‘I was like, “You’re fucking kidding me!” ‘ she yells. Scorsese had seen Herb Ritts’ photographs of Gwen styled as Harlow, and asked her to come and meet him, ‘and dress like a lady’. The part only involved a couple of lines, but she auditioned in front of Scorsese and Leonardo Di Caprio, who plays Howard Hughes. Not bad for a debut. ‘I must have been there for about an hour, talking about the band and everything, and then they called, and I got it.’ Stefani considers it an auspicious start. ‘In the movie, Hughes gives Harlow her first role, in Hells Angels, so for me it’s like Scorsese giving me my first role… And it’s Jean Harlow, which is just so frickin’ weird,’ she laughs, shaking her head.

Stefani’s father, Dennis, in town on business, turns up to wait for his daughter to finish the shoot. As soon as he arrives, Gwen, standing the grounds in a transparent chiffon Lacroix skirt, starts to act the little girl. ‘I forgot to put my skirt on Daddy, don’t look,’ she shrieks. Between shots, she pleads with him not to read the gossip about her on the internet. ‘They even say I’ve had a boob job,’ she says, looking at her flat chest in horror. ‘You mustn’t read it Daddy.’ Theirs is a close relationship, and he appears quietly protective of her, despite her age. ‘I feel very stable because of my Catholic upbringing,’ Gwen has said. I ask Stefani Snr if his daughter has always been a star. ‘No, she’s always been regular. She never dressed sexy as a teen, not like Christina Aguilera. She had a ska tomboy look,’ he says. ‘She only got style when she started getting famous.’ He smiles, proving that celebrities have embarrassing parents.

For now, Stefani is happy – creatively fulfilled and settled in her marriage. She has even befriended fellow Londoner Madonna, although she doesn’t necessarily see her self as the same kind of feminist role model. ‘I always respected girls who were tough and could stand on their own. But I was making a stand. I was just a normal girl who didn’t know what was going to happen next; the normal one, over there, with the fat butt,’ she laughs loudly, pointing to an imaginary, plumper Gwen in the corner. The self-deprecation is difficult to accept from someone so assured. It’s far easier to believe the sass and ego of her lyrics in ‘What You Waiting For?’: ‘Look at your watch now/You’re still a super-hot female/You got your million-dollar contract/And they’re all waiting for your hot track/What you waiting for?’ Gwen’s face splits into a scarlet smile as she hears her own words. A super hot female? ‘Dude, you’d better believe it.’

For the past 17 years, she has stood as the punky siren of the band No Doubt. But there is more to Gwen Stefani’s platinum-blonde life than meets the eye. There’s her fashion line, her acting career, and her first solo dance album with a little help from some music-industry heavies. Christopher Bollen meets the girl underneath it all.

When a certain then-unknown pop star landed for the first time in the New York and climbed into the back seat of a cab, she spoke those immortal words that have now become firmly cemented in rock-music legend: “Take me to the center of everything.” The driver dropped her off in Times Square. Whatever your feelings may be about this particular pop icon, the anecdote does offer a profound lesson: It is relatively easy to stand for a few seconds at the heart of the universe (in 1978, according to this cab driver, that would be the corner of 42nd and Broadway). The tough part is being able to stay there.

Gwen Stefani is one star that has managed to stand pretty much in the center of everyone’s heart since she first drilled hit after hit through the mid-’90s as the gorgeous peroxided lead of No Doubt. A rundown of her songs – “Just A Girl,” “Hey Baby,” “Don’t Speak,” “Rock Steady,” “Hella Good” – plays like the soundtrack of the last ten years, and anyone who has turned on a radio or television knows the wildly excitable voice or the mismatched punk-with-a-perfect-body look as signature Stefani. What most don’t know, however, is that she didn’t just appear out of thin air when the band’s album “Tragic Kingdom” hit big in 1995. Today she and her band (all originally from Anaheim, CA) can count seventeen years of practicing, playing, and touring together. That kind of longevity explains why Stefani has continued to own the spotlight, while so many others have had their Times Square moment and faded out.

In 2004, this California rock star runs her own designer label L.A.M.B, guest designs a bag line for Le Sportsac, is wife to Brit musician Gavin Rossdale, and has a burgeoning film career – as evidenced this winter when Martin Scorsese’s biopic The Aviator opens with Stefani in the role of Jean Harlow. And while No Doubt takes a short hiatus from its hit parade (only to book a greatest-hits summer tour), Stefani shows her prowess in the recording studio with her own solo dance album in the works. I visited Stefani in her Los Feliz mansion right before she was to embark on tour. It was a little before noon, 74 degrees and slightly overcast, and there was a fire blazing in the living room. It was also Bob Dylan’s birthday. I waited twenty minutes before this lanky body bound down the spiral staircase and introduced herself with a teenager’s SoCal accent and biggest brown eyes humanly possible. Here is one final thing that makes Gwen Stefani a permanent fixture in the pop solar system: she is so honest, kind, and sincere about her motivations in life, it is virtually impossible not to fall for her.

CHRISTOPHER BOLLEN You’re getting ready for a tour this summer. That’s all of a sudden.
GWEN STEFANI It is. Anything with No Doubt is sudden because we were planning to take a year off.

Why?
First, I wanted to concentrate on film. I want to do a movie. It’s impossible to get a role because it’s so competitive and you’ve got to have your whole passion in it. In the past, I would be on tour and come home for a weekend and try out for something. So, I wanted to take a year off and focus on that. Then I got this idea to do a dance record. I don’t know where the idea came from originally, but I got excited and that overwhelmed everything else.

Was it your part in The Aviator that gave you the acting bug?
No. I’ve been trying out for movies for years but was never really finding the right thing. And every time I would find a small part I never really had time to go for it.

You must be used to being up in front of thousands by now singing on stage. How different was it to be on set delivering lines with Martin Scorsese behind the camera?
I was so nervous, I didn’t know what to expect with Aviator. Doing music videos, you get a little feel for it. I think that dialogue, though, is in such a different category than singing. It’s a lot subtler. But when I got on the set with Leo – there are five hundred extras in my scene – it felt very familiar. First of all, I’m walking on a red carpet, which is something I’ve done before. [Laughs] But in a way, it’s easier than you think because you get so many tries. That makes you even more confident because you can say, “Okay, I’d do it this way this time.”

Five hundred extras is no small scene.
It’s a huge movie but I have a very small part. They recreated the Mann Chinese Theater from scratch. It’s pretty incredible.

How did it feel to play a legend like Jean Harlow?
I mean imagine, the original blonde blombshell! I’m clearly a great admirer and copier. Ever since I was a teenager I’ve loved Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. I always used to watch old musicals and movies and was just a big fan of Old Hollywood. So when my agent told me about the movie, he said, “Don’t get excited, they want all non-brand name people”-you know, unknowns-and then a couple of months later they said they were sending me the Jean Harlow script and my stomach fell to the floor. When I got the script, I couldn’t find the part. It has like three lines. But I went in and they were so cool to me. It’s always awkward when people know the band, too, because there are all these expectations and it’s all weird and humiliating. But they were amazing.

Have you tried out for other roles since?
Yes, but it is hard to find parts I want to do. What’s really taken over my life now is this solo album.

How did this dance record come about?
I wanted to do an album in the style of music that I grew up on-the dance music of the ’80s like Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Debbie Deb, Club Nouveau, The Time, Prince-all the stuff that makes me so happy. So my idea was to do a silly dance record that had that kind of vibe. Having been in my group for seventeen years, I knew if I didn’t do it now, I wasn’t going to do it.

Were the other member of No Doubt worried? “Uh oh, Gwen’s making her own album now.” I mean, isn’t this the first step to band breakup?
I remember on the Rock Steady tour sitting with Tony [Kanal] and being like, “I don’t want to ruin the tour or anything, but I have this idea.” I wanted Tony to be involved because he was the one who turned me on to most of that music. We as No Doubt didn’t know what we were going to do next anyway. We had such an incredible record with Rock Steady, making it and putting it out. Who would have known? It was magic. But where do you go from there? If we got together right away and did another album, it might not be so inspired. It might sound like it was riding the coattails of Rock Steady. And we had never taken a break, not in seventeen years. I’m not exaggerating. We made so many sacrifices on a personal level for each other for the music out of pure passion. It just felt like the right time for everybody to do something for themselves. I called everyone and told them, and they said, “Do whatever you want to do,” just as you’d imagine your best friends would say.

Did you write most of the songs on your new dance album?
Yes, but it’s not quite my own. That was the whole point of the project. I get a lot of opportunities to work with people who are so talented. The idea was I’d do a song with anyone who came along that I thought was great. There was a wish list of people and others who came to me. One of the people who came to me was Linda Perry, who I’ve known for years. We were the first two girls signed to Interscope and I knew her when she was in 4 Non-Blondes. I didn’t think, “Okay, rock girl, she’ll make my dance record.” But I saw her at the Grammy’s and she put me in a headlock and said, “We’re going to do a record together. We’re going to write some songs.” She was very aggressive. But I had just gotten off of tour and her record company said, “If you’re going to work with Linda, you’ve got to do it this week because she’s only got five days off out of the year.” That first day, I literally didn’t want to go in at all. I was in bed and I cried that morning. I wanted to be lazy and hang out with my husband, not start writing a new record. I was scared, too. I had never worked with another girl before. I got there and on the first day we wrote a song together, which I didn’t think was very good. The next day, I came in and we wrote, “What You Waiting For.” It’s such a good song. Linda and I ended up working on a bunch of songs together. Later, I took those tracks to Nellie Hooper to produce them.

Clearly writing is a different process when you are collaborating with some pretty established songwriters. It must have been a war of personalities sometimes.
The challenge was not to get overwhelmed by my ego and to let myself accompany what Linda had to offer and be part of something that was great even if I didn’t do the whole thing. Like if she wrote the lyrics to “Yesterday” by the Beatles and all I did was write the chorus, I’d be pretty stoked, you know what I mean? There was actually a point at the end when we were in the studio together and I left crying, again [laughs], and I said, “I’ve had enough.” We were working on a track that was very personal to me, and she had written a lyric. I was like, “I don’t want to do this.” I ended up rediscovering the song six months later and going, “Oh my god, this song is great.” It was a song I wrote for this boy I went out with in high school, who meant a lot to me – like my first kissing boyfriend – and he actually died a year ago. I haven’t known him all of those years, but he was a huge part of my life. He gave me a huge thing, which is the first time you love someone. Even if it’s high school. So I wrote this song called “Wonderful Life for Him” with Linda. But the amazing thing about that song was that that guy was the first person to turn me on to Depeche Mode and the Cure. So I got one of his heroes to play on that song.

Who else did you work with?
I did some tracks with Andre 3000, who I’ve been a fan of forever. One song we did is about interracial relationships. It’s such a special song that whatever I did contribute is enough. It’s like having a baby. You have this thing that’s alive and it’s never going to go away, it’s a song, and it captures a moment. So yeah, I really enjoyed it. But sometimes it’s been really painful in not being able to claim all of it as your own.

It’s impressive that you get to play around with your style and your sound, but you still always seem to return to your roots. And you write the songs yourself! I have to be honest, so much pop music right now sounds absolutely soulless and phony, like it has nothing to do with the person singing the lyrics.
I think there is room for everything. I worked with one of the writers that wrote “Like A Virgin,” which you would think Madonna had written, because it is so her. Actually from what I understand the song was written two years before, just nobody else would do it because it was so out there. But with a song like that, you don’t go, “Oh, she didn’t write it.” She made it. Take someone like Liza Manelli who was in Cabaret. She didn’t write it. She played it. But then you go, Joni Mitchell. And she did the whole thing. There is room for everything and it’s all inspiring. So for someone to wear someone else’s music and make it what it’s going to be is very important as well. I feel like I’ve proved myself as a writer. I’ve done it for seventeen years. I’ve been true to my own unit. I’ve never gone outside. We thought if we’re not about making the music, what’s the point. The whole record is about collaboration and being inspired and stealing from everything I’ve ever loved and trying to make it mine. I’m going to make the record that feels like those records make me feel no matter what it takes. I’m not done yet either. I have about nineteen songs but I’m not putting this thing out until it’s fucking the greatest record ever.

Will that be soon?
I want it to come out this year, but it’s going to come out when it’s meant to come out. It’s going to come out when it’s great. I could put out a great record right now with the songs that I have but part of me wants to go to the Doctor, as in Dr. Dre, and see where I can get with that, which is just going to be the biggest challenge so far. And I probably want to go with one more artist, I’m not going to say who. And I have all my new wave songs. I want to get my dirty, modern, club dance attitude songs.

It’s weird you mention Joni Mitchell. It’s Bob Dylan’s birthday today. I found that out on the radio coming here. And I was thinking about how fans are so hard on Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan for continuing to make music arguably after their prime. It’s as if fans wish they would stop making music or stick with the old stuff. Your career is hardly on a downward spiral, but do you think there will come a moment when you say, “Okay, that’s that.”
The band always talks about, “When will it be over?” We never dreamed we’d do it this long. We never even thought we’d get on the radio. We did the band because we were in Anaheim. What else was there to do, go to Disneyland? We were all going to college. We weren’t lazy stoner kids who weren’t going to do anything with our lives. There are all these different rules for what a musician should be like: they should be a drug addict and come from a really bad family. A lot of time that does fuel a creative outlet. But my dad’s idol was Bob Dylan. At ten years old, I was in the back of the station wagon saying, “Dad not this again.” My parents were very creative and their children were their creative outlet and everything they did was about playing things for us, teaching us about art and music. I feel very blessed for that. I don’t know what is going to happen with us. We could do music for the rest of our lives. At a certain point whatever people might think or say, or whatever perspective people have on me or my band, it’s never going to be true or real. What does it matter as long as I’m happy? I feel like I’m the most blessed person in the world. I’m sitting in a beautiful house. I have an unbelievable husband and family, and I get to do music. That’s my job. People pay me to dance around!

Not to mention you have your own fashion line, L.A.M.B. Zaldy helps design it, doesn’t he?
Yes! I know Zaldy through his friend Matthu, and I know Matthu because he was the first makeup artist I ever let do my makeup. I had always done my own makeup and when I was told I should work with him, I thought, hmm, a guy doing my makeup I’m not sure about. But he ended up doing my makeup for a year after that. I did some crazy makeup that year. It was a wild time. And then I met Zaldy and he started helping with some of my designs. Collaboration is everything when it comes to design. I hired him and the guys from Nice Collective. It was like college, we all came together and showed what we did, and I think we created an amazing second collection. So I asked Zaldy to stay on because I never want him to go. I love him. He’s so talented. My guitar player’s fiancé is getting married in October, so L.A.M.B is doing her wedding dress. Of everything I do, it’s probably the easiest and most greedily fulfilling. What do I want to wear? It’s like a girl’s dream come true.

Aren’t you also doing a bag line?
The bags are totally separate. I got sent one of the LeSportsac bags. I used that bag so much and I guess they saw me with it and said, “Hey do you want to make your own bag for yourself?” I said, “Hell yeah dude,” and made this leopard bag with green trim and I had that on tour and I loved it. And they called me back and said, “Hey what would you think about being a guest designer?” I never collaborated with a corporation. I get asked all the time to be the shampoo girl or the makeup girl or the cola girl. I don’t want to sell things. I’d feel too guilty. I’m Catholic. But with Sportsac as guest designer, the title sounded so nice and I am a designer.

It’s a bit different than selling Pepsi on a TV commercial.
It’s totally different. And I learned so much. Also, it’s fun to see the bags take on a whole new life. When I saw people wear it I thought, yeah, that’s them now. But wait that’s mine! I got jealous, like, don’t wear my bag! I saw this girl walking down the street with that bag, and that was her bag. It was a good feeling. I enjoyed doing it so much I decided to sign on for the fall season.

If you could pick a dream movie to star in, what would it be?
I am doing a movie.

Wait, you’re going to make your own?
I said, “Dude, I want to do my own.” I’m not sure I’m supposed to talk about it yet. I want to do a movie that goes with my record. But because it’s not developed yet it would be stupid to talk about it. It is going to happen. I will make that shit happen. I’m convinced.

You’ve spent a great deal of your life in California. You were born here. Can you imagine living anywhere else?
I was never a Hollywood kid. I grew up in Orange County. Nowadays, the two have merged, but back then it was like living behind the Orange Curtain. They were definitely two different worlds. But we started playing at all the clubs here. I remember my parents would drive me to these shows because they were strict. I’m glad they were and would probably be the same with my kids. So LA wasn’t part of my early life except for the fantasy of Old Hollywood and that kind of thing. California for me was more about being able to get on the bus and go down to the beach. I was a lifeguard at a pool for a couple of years. I taught kids how to swim. I worked at a sportswear shop helping older ladies pick out polyester outfits. I actually got a lot of fulfillment out of that. Otherwise I just went to school to try to be something when I grew up. The biggest regret about California would be that I put baby oil all over my body and baked in the sun every day on the beach.

I think LA has this surreal quality to it.
That’s how we feel about New York. We’d be like, New York’s so cool, so much buzz, creative people. But LA is the same way. People come here to be creative. There’s also all these weird scary people but I don’t deal with them too much. I moved up here six years ago, but I live in this beautiful place and have my friends around me. There’s not a lot of places to go out and you can’t stay out until three in the morning. But I’m just lucky that I got to travel the world and I also live in London, so I have this English life too. It makes my life so much richer. From Orange Country to get to live in London! It makes me so cool, huh?

Yeah. It does.

With thanks to Anne at JustNoDoubt.net

A fashion label. A music career. A so-gorgeous husband. Welcome to Gwen Stefani’s world.

Picture this: You’re Gwen Stefani. You front No Doubt, one of the coolest rock bands in the world, and the guys in the group are so close they’re practically your family. You married Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale in a heavenly dipped-in-pink dress. You’ve launched a fashion label called LAMB that celebs are loving and you’re about to star in the Martin Scorsese film The Aviator. Can life get any better? Um, not really…

You’re known as a style icon. How did that happen?
When people started talking about how I dressed in the early days, I was always dismissive of it. If you’re in a band, it’s really uncool to talk about what you’re wearing. You just wear it. It’s [meant to be all] about the music, but obviously that’s not true. I do make a effort and I’ve always loved clothes.My mum loved clothes too and I think it’s in my blood. Every Christmas, my great-grandma would sew pyjamas, quilts and clothes for everyone in the family. I’d go to her house and her whole back room was full of fabrics. She would start on New Year’s Day and work all year long. My grandma made all my mum’s clothes. My mum didn’t even get a say in the matter. She’d come home and her mum would say, “Here’s your prom dress.” Then my mum made all my clothes. We’d go to the fabric store, look through the books and choose the patterns, the buttons and the zips. I love clothes and fashion – it’s an extension of my personality. It really isn’t important in life, but it’s fun.

Did you always love unusual clothes, rather than chain-store fashion?
I’ve always loved shopping and making my own outfits. When I was young and Mum said, “Let’s go to the mall”, I always replied, “Can’t I just go to the thrift store? You get really good stuff there.” I would buy the clothes and then alter everything on our sewing machine. My bedroom was always the one you didn’t go into – unless you wanted to get pins stuck in your foot. I was always doing projects and making my own clothes.

Have you always been close to your family?
My family is really tight. When the band started, everyone would come over to our house and Mum would drive them around. The Stefani’s were like the Brady Bunch. The day I got my nose pierced, we were playing a local show and my mum drove me there. We’re really close.

When No Doubt started, you were only a teenager. Did you make your own clothes then?
I’ve always made my own clothes. When we first went on tour, I sat around and made three outfits; they were Disneyland-cartoonish dresses. Then I got lucky, made more money and hooked up with a girl who made clothes for me. I could just call her, tell her what I wanted and she’d send me different fabric samples. So I’d be on tour and could ask for polka-dot pants in yellow and a top with black stripes. When you’re on tour, you don’t have time to buy clothes. Then I met Andrea Lieberman, a stylist who is so cool. She streamlined my ideas and improved them. I was blown away.

You have your own fashion line now, LAMB. How is that?
To be here talking about it is beyond me. I didn’t know what I was doing, but it was so much fun. I got inspiration from designers, stole ideas from everyone, and then thought, “What do I want to wear?” I started making clothes and doing drawings. I had so many things going on; it became so overwhelming. I thought, “I can’t believe I’ve done this, what a mistake,” but by then it was done. It was a distraction from my music, but I’m only trying to please myself really.

Lots of stars just give their names to a clothing line. Are you involved with design or do other do most of the work?
I’m involved. I could easily go out and make tons of money cashing in – trying to do something my fans could afford at Target – but I’m not really interested in that. I’m passionate about designing and find it very artistic. I want to do it for real and make a brand that’s going to last. I want something that well be there for my 15-year-old daughter. I love it so much that if it got taken away, I’d be so sad. I want to cry just talking about it.

You do some mainstream fashion, making LeSportsac bags. How did that happen?
They asked me to be a guest designer and I thought, “Why not?” I remember them from when I was a kid. When the bags came out it was weird. I’d see a girl across the street, owning her bag, but it was my bag, you know what I mean? It’s a bit of a jealous feeling but it’s magical that people like my bags and clothes. One thing that saves me from that jealousy is that I have them the season before.

What skills do you need to be a designer?
The whole collection, of course, is just ripping off everyone else. That’s what I’ve done my whole life in music, style, everything. I don’t care who you are, it’s all about stealing and borrowing from everyone and making it your own.

Who’s your favourite designer?
One would be John Galliano. I can’t even believe I know him. Vivienne Westwood is another. The first fashion show I went to was hers. Talk about stealing ideas. I don’t know where she stole hers from but her clothes are so wearable.

Why did you call your clothing line LAMB?
Lamb was the name I used to call my dog. Her real name was Marilyn – after Marilyn Monroe – because she had blonde hair, but it developed into Lamb because, for the past few years of her life, she always followed me everywhere, like Mary’s little lamb. I then started calling anything cute “lamb” and named the clothes after my dog who passed away.

Do you call Gavin “Lamb”?
Hmm, interesting. No. Lamb has taken on a whole new meaning with the clothes, so it doesn’t mean what it used to.

Do you have any indulgences when it comes to clothes?
When I go to London I splurge on Vivienne’s clothes and come home with bags full of them. I’ll buy whatever I can because I love her clothes and they fit me really well. She’s spectacular.

Are there any similarities between creating a garment and writing a song?
It’s the same feeling. You write a song for yourself, from your heart. I don’t sit there thinking. “What kind of song can I write for my fans?” I write my song and then it goes out there and people embrace it as the backdrop to their life.

What does the upcoming solo album mean for No Doubt?
We’re taking a break but we’re definitely not breaking up. I wanted to make an ’80s dance record with fake drumbeats, kinda like Salt-N-Pepa, and I couldn’t do that with No Doubt. I haven’t finished it yet.

What do you think of the constant comparisons to Marilyn Monroe, Jean Harlow and Madonna? Are they annoying or flattering?
It’s crazy but it’s not annoying. It’s amazing to be playing Jean Harlow in this new film The Aviator [which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett. It's bizzare that I get to play the original blonde bombshell. She comes on the screen and she's a light bulb. Growing up in LA, I became really fascinated with starlets. My whole room was filled with Marilyn Monroe posters and I loved old musicals and early Hollywood. It was such a glamorous era. Madonna came out when I was at school and I was into other types of music. And admitting I liked a pop idol was not something I did very often. It wasn't until later that I really started to appreciate what an incredibly talented person she is.

Do you and Gavin hang out with Madonna and Guy in London?
Yeah. We've had dinner together and she's great. I like London. I get lots of attention and better tables in restaurants. I was talking to Madonna and she says she prefers her life in London because she feels more free. I know what she means, [In London] I get to have a break and have family time with Gavin.

Do you think you’ll get an English accent?
No. If I ever sound English, slap me.

Is your body natural or the result of grueling work-outs?
You want me to talk about my hot body? Before anyone has any ideas about me, I’d like to say that I have to work very hard to look as good as I do. I work out every day but wearing cute clothes is good inspiration. So if I want to eat pizza. I do. But if I want to wear cute clothes, I don’t.

Are you on a permanent diet?
I go through waves with food. I’m probably like everyone else. If something cool is coming up and I want to look good, I get into my healthy fitness rage and take care of myself. As soon as it’s over, it’s like “Hooray, let’s go get pizza.” I do whatever I want, I become a lazy slob and watch TV. Then I get motivated again. It’s the same old cycle and it’s the same for everybody I know.

Your busy with music, movies and the fashion thing. How do you find time to be with Gavin?
I make sure it’s a number-one priority. Everything else is second. Sometimes I have to say no to things because I want to be home with him and hang out. Relationships are work, like everyone says. You have to put the time in, but so far it’s been really fun work. He’s so talented, he’s good at everything and he’s an amazing cook – so I really scored. We have a great time together. I love being married. But I don’t have advice for anyone on relationships. If you read any of my lyrics you’ll see that! I’m finding my way like everyone else.

You talked about making clothes for your daughter. Are you planning to have children?
I hope so, sometime in the future. I do think about babies and kids. We really want them but at the moment we’re enjoying the marriage and being together without children. My life has turned out nothing like I thought it would. Things have kind of evolved. I believe there is a plan for me and it will happen.

No Doubt is on hiatus, but Gwen’s still busy. Her clothing line is gearing to launch this fall and she’s getting ready to work with DiCaprio and Scorsese. Is it still a Simple Kind of Life? by Kev Lewin

As a musician, Stefani has welcomed the evolution of the band’s sound while holding true to her roots. She’s a chameleon in the best possible sense. Her openness to collaborate has also been a part of her continued success. The L.A.M.B line of apparel is all part of the agenda.

There’s no doubt marriage has changed Gwen Stefani. Since saying ‘I do’ to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale three times last September, she has put her music career on hold to concentrate on creating and marketing her unique fashion designs.

Fans of No Doubt may be in mourning as the Californian plans for life away from the group, but the fashion conscious should start celebrating as the style queen attempts to be the new Stella McCartney.

Stefani has a range of ideas she’s hoping to turn into must-haves-from handbags to wallets. Not bad for a girl whose strict Catholic parents made sure their daughter didn’t step out in anything even remotely risqué or eye-catching.

“My parents were very strict,” she said. “I had to wear white underwear until I finished high school.”

Nowadays, Stefani, 33, is all about color and setting fashion trends that thrill. After friends told her to make more of her crazy clothes and accessories, she started the L.A.M.B clothing line of sportwear with designer friend Andrea Lieberman.

“I’m so excited to be able to give my friends a pair of pants from my line and say, ‘They’re mine. I made them,’” she said. “I’ve designed tons of things for myself, but to do something for other people – that’s cool. I never thought I’d have an impact on anyone.”

The L.A.M.B name, which will be featured in bold old-English letters on her designs, is a tribute to her beloved late Lhasa Apso. The name is also inspired by her favorite words: lamb, love, angel, music and baby.

She admits working with Lieberman has really helped turn her crazy outlandish ideas into solid designs. Her line will hit stores early next year.

“She has totally streamlined me,” she said. “To me, there’s not such thing as too much.” John Galliano, who designed the wedding gown Gwen wore to ceremonies in London and Los Angeles, is convinced the starlet and her L.A.M.B partner are sure to become a leading light in fashion circles in the coming years.

“Gwen’s an old-fashioned romantic at heart with a love of breaking with convention,” Galliano said. “That’s good for fashion.”

As if to give the world a taste of things to come, Stefani has collaborated with LeSportsac to create a limited edition of handbags, purses, pouches, wallets and CD cases, which will be available online and at department stores from mid-August.

The accessories, with their eye-catching colors and Stefani’s favorite words “tattooed” on them, are sure to be the thing to be caught carrying this autumn. Stefani has even given her new bags a little rock star chic including some with woven guitar strap handles. She admits her daredevil style comes from a range of influences: her grandmother, ska music fashions, the Far East and vintage Hollywood glamour to name just a few.

Mix them all together and you start to see Stefani’s eclectic creations coming together. Her new clothing line does pose one big problem for the pop star – if it really takes off, will she ever be able to get back to the simple kind of life she once sang about?

Life away from the band has been pretty simple so far. She spends her days contemplating musical collaborations with the likes of Eurythmics musician Dave Stewart and Dr. Dre and enjoying married life. She’s even being considered for film roles after losing the chance to appear in “Chicago” to Mya.

Stefani has been linked to several projects, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s new Howard Hughes movie The Aviator. Director Martin Scorsese and co-starring Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale, it’s a chance to impress in her very first film, where she’ll play silver screen diva Jean Harlow.

She insists she’s up for the challenge. “I’ve auditioned for lots of things, but always when the band was about to make a record or go out on tour,” she said. “I think that to do something like acting, which is so difficult, really well, I have to put all my passion into it. I’m ready to focus on it now.”

Stefani’s biological clock seems to be ticking pretty loud these days too – one of the main reason why a break from No Doubt was important to her was her keenness to become a mother.

“We’re taking a little break,” she said. “We’ve never taken a break before even and this is our 16th anniversary and this is a perfect time for the group. We’re starting families now for the first time and we’re enjoying taking a break. For me, I want to be a grandma. I love my 30s so far. I just want to live life right now.”

That’s not to say Stefani and Rossdale are already making plans for a child, but surely the announcement isn’t far away. “Maybe next year, we’ll have some babies,” she said.

Her bandmates couldn’t be happier for their singer. “She wanted to be a mom when we first met. She’ll make a great mom. I think it’s a good time for her to take stock,” said drummer Adrian Young.

Stefani also seems to be very in touch with her own sexuality – highlighted by her revealing outfits and her stint as a dancer with Hollywood burlesque troupe The Pussycat Dolls. Dolls founder Robin Antin is convinced the singer is “a child of the night,” who loves to be noticed – and she’s convinced her clothing line will help other girls achieve stunning results.

“She can stop traffic. She came to see a Pussycat Dolls show at the Viper Room in Los Angeles and she just loved it,” Antin said. “She was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is exactly what I’ve always wanted to do.’ So, we got her in the show one night and she was amazing. So sexy.”

Stefani admits it’s often hard to believe that she’s living the busy life she always dreamed of.

“It’s like a platinum blonde life,” she laughed. “Sometimes I have to remember to keep walking forward, becuase it all blows my mind.”

Transcribed by Tabitha for No Doubt Scrapbook. What a star!