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Grammy-winning singer Gwen Stefani receives Walk of Fame star
The Industry Oct 20, 2023
| Photo courtesy of Gwen Stefani/X
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A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Thursday honoring Gwen Stefani for a career in which she has received 18 Grammy nominations — winning three times — sold more than 60 million units worldwide and amassed over 10 billion streams.
Stefani’s husband Blake Shelton, entertainment executive Irving Azoff and former record executive Jimmy Iovine were among those joining Stefani at the ceremony adjacent to Amoeba Music. Her star is next to that of Shelton.
“Wow, wow, wow, oh my gosh,” Stefani said as she accepted the honor. “OK, first of all, what is happening right now? This is insane. … This is ridiculous. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that this girl right here from Orange County would have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it just doesn’t make sense to me.”
She recalled meeting Iovine during a music showcase before she was famous, and not even knowing who he was.
“He literally said to me, ‘You are going to be a star,'” Stefani recalled. “And then he said, `In six years, you’re gonna be a star.’ … Six years on the dot, `Don’t Speak’ was number one around the world, and he was right.”
The star ceremony came 16 days after Stefani’s 54th birthday.
Her star is the 2,764th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.
Stefani was born Oct. 3, 1969, in Fullerton and raised in Anaheim. She graduated from Loara High School in Anaheim in 1987, then briefly attended Fullerton College and California State University Fullerton, dropping out later in 1987 to pursue a music career.
Stefani is best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band No Doubt, which she, her brother Eric and John Spence formed in 1986 as a ska band.
The band was signed to Interscope Records in 1991 and released its self-titled debut album in 1992.
The band received the first of its nine Grammy nominations in 1997 for best new artist, losing to LeAnn Rimes, and best rock album for “Tragic Kingdom,” losing to Sheryl Crow’s self-titled second studio album.
Stefani would have to wait until 2002 to win her first Grammy, joining Eve in winning for best rap/sung collaboration for “Let Me Blow Ya Mind.”
Stefani won best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal Grammys as part of No Doubt each of the following two years, winning for “Hey Baby” in 2003 and “Underneath It All” in 2004.
Stefani’s other honors include four MTV Video Music Awards and an American Music Award in 2005 for favorite pop/rock female artist.
As a solo performer, Stefani has released four studio albums, two extended plays, 33 singles (including nine as a featured artist), six promotional singles, one video album, and 28 music videos. Her debut solo album, “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” was certified as platinum five times by the recording industry trade group, the Recording Industry Association of America.
Stefani has been a coach on the NBC singing competition “The Voice” for seven seasons since 2014.
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