Gwen Stefani

As the platinum blonde, ultra-cool front woman of rockers No Doubt, Gwen Stefani penned the huge hits Don't Speak, Just A Girl and Hey Baby and was compared to the likes of Debbie Harry and Madonna. Inspired by rock, ska, punk and reggae, Stefani first appeared without the band when she teamed up with Moby on the single South Side and then with Eve on the hip hop hit Let Me Blow Ya Mind, before going on to release her debut solo album Love Angel Music Baby in 2004. A mix of Alice in Wonderland-style fantasy, infectious electro pop and strutting dance tunes, the record went on to reach Number 4 in the UK and produced the US Number 1 single Hollaback Girl, while Stefani paraded around with a gang of Japanese backing dancers known as the Harajuku Girls. She appeared in the Martin Scorsese movie The Aviator playing starlet Jean Harlow before reaching Number 3 in the US with second album The Sweet Escape (2006) and scoring huge hits with Wind It Up and The Sweet Escape (featuring Akon). A purveyor of vibrant, eccentric, funky pop hits, Stefani's wide range of musical tastes and willingness to collaborate with a diverse range of artists including Dr Dre, Pharrell Williams and Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley make her one of music's most interesting characters.