Transformation

Gwen Stefani isn't ashamed to admit that she enjoys being a girl. "I know I'm vain," she has said. "I have so much makeup—I'm not kidding." Her bold '40s-style lips are so iconic that she skips the lippy when she doesn't want to be recognized. But with a career that includes penning a pair of solo albums, designing L.A.M.B. (her flourishing clothing and accessories line) and —whew!—reuniting with her pop-ska band No Doubt, it's safe to say that the days of anonymity are far behind her. It's also safe to say that the platinum blond mother of two will never get tired of trying new things. "I've always loved beauty. I was the girl who was like, 'Ask your mom if we can play with clothes or makeup,'" she has told InStyle. "And you know what? I'm doing the same thing now that I was doing when I was 10."

1996: "I'm the girl who would wear baggy jeans but didn't forget to put on tons of makeup," Stefani has said of her early days with No Doubt.