Gwen Stefani Says People Talking About Her Aging ‘Is a Compliment’

Gwen Stefani is 51 years old, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at her — the No Doubt singer would have no trouble passing for someone much younger. During an interview with The Herald Sun, Stefani opened up about aging in Hollywood, sharing that while it’s “really hard,” she’s “obsessed” with how it’s been going for her.

“It’s really hard for everyone to age and have to face life,” she said. “Especially for females and people who have been in the spotlight it can be daunting, but you tackle it by just trying to be the most beautiful version of yourself inside and out. People talking about my ageing is a compliment, I guess. I’m kind of obsessed with how I’m ageing, too.”

These days, Stefani credits fiancé Blake Shelton for making feel the most beautiful she ever has. “Blake is the greatest guy,” she gushed. “I look back over the past few years and look at pictures of when I first started kissing Blake, and I look the best I’ve ever looked in my life in those photos. Love must look good on me. I feel like that does show through – it really does.”

Renewed fascination with Stefani’s youthful appearance stemmed from her recent music video for her new single “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” which features the California native wearing a number of iconic outfits from throughout her career. “I was always a misfit,” Stefani mused of her clothing choices. “I didn’t have a stylist telling me what to wear. They were my clothes.”

Outfits including the polka-dot dress she wore in the music video for No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” to the furry blue bikini top and space buns she chose for the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards are all represented in the new video, years after fans began creating their own versions of Stefani’s clothes.

“Those clothes became peoples’ Halloween costumes!” she exclaimed. “The more that you’re yourself, the more unique and original you are. I look back on all the things I’ve done and think, ‘Gosh, how did I stumble upon that?’ [But] I didn’t – I was just being me. The one thing I always knew was that I would always follow my truth and what I liked and who I was.”

Along with “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” Stefani recently released “Slow Clap,” a reggae-tinged message of empowerment. “I wanted to go back to where I first started loving music, which was ska and reggae, when we started No Doubt,” she said of her new music. “I think I was 12 when I got introduced to that music; it really spoke to me and defined who I was. I wanted to go back and be nostalgic and write music with that good energy – up-tempo, with positivity.”