Las Vegas Weekly

September 22, 2010 · 9:01 AM

Photos: Gwen Stefani’s $300,000 wax figure is unveiled at Madame Tussauds

By Robin Leach

Gwen Stefani unveils her $300,000 wax figure at Madame Tussauds at The Venetian on Sept. 22, 2010.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/ErikKabik.com

Posted at 9:01 a.m.; updated at 3:35 p.m.

Music superstar Gwen Stefani will be immortalized in wax at noon today in a side-by-side unveiling at Madame Tussauds at The Venetian. The three-time Grammy Award-winning No Doubt singer arrived here last night in advance of the ceremony, and Vegas DeLuxe will post photographs of the glittering event this afternoon.

“We are very excited to have Gwen Stefani’s figure added to our attraction! She’s consistently rated high on our request list, so we are very pleased to bring her figure to all her loyal fans,” Madame Tussauds General Manager Rosita Chapman said in a statement.

It took nearly six months from Gwen’s first private sitting to create the figure, and more than 250 measurements and photographs were taken to ensure its accuracy at a total cost of $300,000. I’ve already got one inside secret: Gwen’s wax figure will start out 2 percent larger than she is in real life to allow for the wax shrinking in our desert weather.

The new Gwen Stefani figure took 350 hours to sculpt and 175 hours to mold. Each strand of hair, weighing 10 ounces in total, was inserted individually and then styled, taking some 140 hours over 5 weeks to complete. Other fun facts include 28 hours spent on her teeth and 14 hours spent on her eyes.

Gwen donated her own clothes for her figure to wear, but we won’t know the outfit until the ceremonial unveiling. For more than two decades, the mother of two youngsters with musician husband Gavin Rossdale of Bush fame has reigned atop the charts as a bestselling singer and songwriter.

Since becoming the lead singer of No Doubt in 1986, Gwen has become an entertainment and fashion icon. In fact, today’s return to The Venetian is a homecoming since she launched her L.A.M.B. and Harajuku Lovers fashion and jewelry lines at Tao. She’s the celebrity face of L’Oreal, and our hair guru to the stars Michael Boychuck of Amp at the Palms and Color at Caesars Palace was flown to New York to meet with her when he was named Colorist of the Decade (see our separate story in today’s Strip Scribbles).

Gwen has released two successful solo albums and became the first artist in history to sell 1 million downloads with “Hollaback Girl” in 2007. Last year, she reunited with No Doubt for a successful summer tour that included a Las Vegas stop. The band is currently in the studio finishing a highly anticipated new album.

Gwen’s wax figure joins the recent Las Vegas museum debuts of Chuck Liddell, Snoop Dogg and President Obama in The Oval Office Experience. The main London Madame Tussauds was established in 1884, and since then every member of the British Royal Family has sat for his or her wax figure, including Princess Diana just months before her death. More than 500 million people worldwide have visited a Madame Tussauds.

Please check back to Vegas DeLuxe this afternoon for the fast photos from Gwen’s unveiling.

Updated at 3:35 p.m.: Here are the photos from the wax figure unveiling at Madame Tussauds.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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