Gwen Stefani pays tribute to husband Blake Shelton as Walk of Fame star unveiled
By Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter
Gwen Stefani paid tribute to husband Blake Shelton, saying “the minute I met you I knew I was home”, as her plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled.
The 54-year-old lead singer of No Doubt, who has also had an extensive solo career, was awarded the 2,764th star at the event held on Thursday in Los Angeles and thanked her fans, children and husband Shelton.
Speaking at the Hollywood event, Stefani said: “First of all, what is happening right now, this is insane… everybody here, thank you guys so much for showing us, this is ridiculous.
“Never, 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 – that just doesn’t make sense to me.”
Stefani met partner Shelton whilst they were judging American reality singing show The Voice.
Speaking about the influence of the TV series and entertainment executive, Irving Azoff, the singer said: “If I didn’t have The Voice and I didn’t have Irving, I wouldn’t have met my best friend, my husband, Blake Shelton.
“I love you so much. You have given me the kind of love I never knew before. The minute I met you I knew I was home and I’m so, so proud that you’re mine, I can’t believe it. I love you, so much.”
Thanking her fans, she added: “The first song I wrote, it gave me my life purpose so thank you God for that and thank you to all of the fans, you guys, honestly, every single person that listened to my music all these years I would not be here without you guys, it has been a beautiful exchange of love. Thank you so much Hollywood.”
Country musician Shelton, 47, also spoke at the ceremony and said: “The first time that I ever met Gwen was in 2014. She wasn’t like any other famous person that I had ever met before.
“She drove herself to work in a black minivan with car seats in it. She didn’t roll in with security, she came in with a baby and two little boys, which at the time worked like security because nobody was going near. It was chaos.
“It was clear to me that she was a mother first and foremost over anything else in the world.
“That was her number one job. And now, standing her, almost 10 years later after I first met her I can say without question that being a mother is still the most important thing in her life, and I gotta tell y’all, that’s rare in this business.
“But today it’s nice to see her honoured for her side project which is being one of the biggest stars in the world.
“In my opinion, Gwen is the perfect person to receive a star on the Walk of Fame.
“From music, television and movies to fashion and beauty she has risen to the top over and over again with her unique style that has made the world fall in love with her, not as much as me though.”
Other guest speakers at the unveiling were record producer and Beats Electronics co-founder Jimmy Iovine and former CEO of Ticketmaster Azoff.
Stefani has won three Grammy awards, two with No Doubt and one for a collaboration with singer and rapper Eve.
She also has a number of top 10 singles in the UK charts with tracks that include The Sweet Escape, What You Waiting For? and Hollaback Girl, according to data from the Official Charts Company.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce administers the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Los Angeles and has hosted the star ceremonies for decades.
Other celebrities to have their names on the Walk of Fame include Matt Damon, Missy Elliott, Will Ferrell, Sir Elton John and Sir Tom Jones.