Joel Madden

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Joel Madden

Background information
Birth name Joel Reuben Combs
Born March 11, 1979 (1979-03-11) (age 29)
Origin Waldorf, Maryland
Genre(s) Alternative rock, pop punk, pop rock
Occupation(s) Musician, vocalist, songwriter, guitarist
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar
Years active 1996—present
Label(s) Epic Records
Website http://www.goodcharlotte.com

Joel Reuben Madden (born Joel Reuben Combs on March 11, 1979) is an American singer well-known as the lead vocalist for the band Good Charlotte.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Madden was born to a middle class Irish-American family in Waldorf, Maryland. He has an identical twin brother, Benji Madden, who plays guitar in Good Charlotte. He has an older brother named Josh, and a younger sister named Sarah. Madden attended La Plata High School in La Plata, Maryland.

When Madden was 15 years old his father left the family, causing financial hardship for the family. Madden took up various odd jobs as a teenager to help his mother with the family's bills. One job he and his brother, Benji, took up was washing people's hair at a salon. While in his early 20s, Madden changed his last name from Combs, his father's name, to his mother's maiden name, Madden. He did this to further himself from his father, who had left their family.[1]

Good Charlotte

In 1995, at the age of 16, Madden attended the Beastie Boys Ill Communication Tour with his brother Benji. Drawing from music introduced to them by their older brother Josh, such as Rancid and Social Distortion, as well as the influence of the Beastie Boys concert, the two started their own band with a friend. The band was short lived and the Maddens eventually recruited fellow high schoolers Paul Thomas and Aaron Escolopio to form Good Charlotte.[2]

Other projects

In the 2001 film Not Another Teen Movie, Joel and the other Good Charlotte members made a cameo as the band at the school's prom. He later had a cameo role in the 2004 film Fat Albert and in the 2006 film Material Girls with his brother Benji.

Madden started a clothing line called MADE Clothing along with his brothers Benji and Josh. The line is now defunct. In early 2006 MADE Clothing became DCMA Collective. The line is owned by himself, his brothers Benji Madden, Josh Madden, and friend Tal Cooperman.

In November 2007, Nicole Richie and Madden created The Richie Madden Children's Foundation. The charity will create and promote an online registry to inspire the purchases of items for moms and their families in need.[3]

Personal life

Later that year in December 2006, Madden and Nicole Richie became a couple. In June and July 2007, numerous media outlets were stating that Richie was pregnant with Madden's baby. These rumors were unaddressed by the couple until July 31, 2007 when they confirmed in an interview with Diane Sawyer that Richie was pregnant with Madden's child. For the sake of Richie and the baby, Madden has given up smoking. Richie gave birth to the couple's daughter, Harlow Winter Kate Madden on January 11, 2008 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.[4]

Madden currently resides in Glendale, California, and is still with Nicole Richie.

Guest appearances

Year Song Artist(s) Album
2008 "I'm the One" Bizzy Bone A Song for You (Bizzy Bone album)
2008 "LA Girls" Mams Taylor Unknown
2005 "Tired" Tommy Lee Tommyland: The Ride
2004 "Jump" N*E*R*D Fly or Die
2002 "You Don't Mean Anything" Simple Plan No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls

References