Benji Madden

Benji Madden
Background information
Born	(1979-03-11) March 11, 1979 Waldorf, Maryland, US
Genres	Pop punk, folk rock, alternative rock, pop rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass guitar, piano
Years active	1995–present
Labels	EMI
Associated acts	Good Charlotte, The Madden Brothers, Rad Omen
Notable instruments
OLP Guitars Gretsch guitars Music Man guitars

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Benjamin Levi "Benji" Madden (born March 11, 1979) is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. He is the guitarist for the band Good Charlotte, as well as pop rock collaboration The Madden Brothers. He formed both of these acts with his identical twin brother, Joel Madden. Benji is currently a judge on The Voice Australia. He is married to actress Cameron Diaz.

Early life

Benjamin "Benji" Madden was born Benjamin Levi Combs on March 11, 1979, in Waldorf, Maryland, the son of Robin Madden and Roger Combs.^[1][2] He has an identical twin, Joel Madden, with whom he formed the band Good Charlotte.^[1] He has an older brother named Josh and a younger sister, Sarah. All attended La Plata High School in La Plata, Maryland.^[2]

Career

Madden started the fashion line called Made Clothing, along with his brothers Joel and Josh, but the line became defunct. In early 2006, it became DCMA Collective. A DCMA Collective store opened in Los Angeles on March 15, 2008, but later closed.

In 1996 Madden started a band with his twin brother Joel named Good Charlotte. The band became defunct.

While still playing in Good Charlotte, Madden and Joel wrote and produced for other artists. Madden was a co-writer and co-producer of some of the songs on Hilary Duff's Most Wanted (2005) compilation album. He later helped write the songs "Amnesia" for pop rockers 5 Seconds of Summer and "No Ordinary Girl" for pop artist Kalin and Myles. He has appeared as a back-up vocalist for artists such as MxPx, Kill Hannah, Apoptygma Berzerk, Mest, The 69 Eyes, Sean Kingston, Three 6 Mafia, Chamillionaire, and Matisyahu.^[3] As of September 2009 Madden has guested playing in the band Taintstick, fronted by radio talk show host, professional MMA fighter, and pro skateboarder, Jason Ellis.

On April 3, 2010, Madden partook in a boxing match against MTV and VH1 host Riki Rachtman at Ellismania 5: Get These Brawls. The event was hosted by Jason Ellis at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Madden beat Rachtman by knockout at 1 minute and 42 seconds into the first round.^[4]

On November 11, 2011, Madden and his brother and Joel Madden released a free mixtape, "The Madden Brothers: Before Volume 1". It contains new artists the brothers were personally interested in. Their brother Josh Madden helped to produce the mixtape.

In December 2011, it was announced that Benji and Joel are recording a record as "The Madden Brothers".

In 2012, Benji appeared on the TV show The Voice Australia, alongside Joel and being his mentor.

In early 2013, Benji helped write Tonight Alive's song "Breakdown" and also made an appearance in the video for the song as well as singing towards the end of it.

In 2014, electronic dance music artist TJR released his track "Come Back Down", which features Benji for the track's vocals.

The Madden Brothers record "Greetings from California" was released on September 16, 2014.

In mid-2014, both of the Madden brothers appeared as coaches on The Voice Kids Australia in a double chair, after the example of the Dutch The Voice of Holland and The Voice Kids (Netherlands season 1) edition in which the singer's duo Nick & Simon appeared as a judging duo between 2010 to 2015.

In early 2015, it was announced that Benji would be joining Joel as a coach on the main edition of The Voice, bringing the number of coaches up to five instead of the usual four.

Personal life

Madden lives in Beverly Hills, CA with his wife, Cameron Diaz.

In January 2008, media outlets reported that Madden and his long-time fiancée, Australian starlet Sophie Monk, had split up.^[5] In response to the rumors, Good Charlotte's rep told Us Weekly: "Benji Madden and Sophie Monk are together and very happy." However, in mid-February it was officially announced by Monk's Sydney agent, that "Sophie and Benji have officially split. The decision was mutual and they remain amicable."^[6] Madden then dated Paris Hilton from February to November 2008.^[7][8][7] Madden also dated television personality Holly Madison, from December 2009 until January 2010.^[9] However they have remained very close friends. He also dated singer Eliza Doolittle about a year, from 2011 to 2012.^[10] In 2013, he was spotted out with a fan, claiming to be just an old friend. No name has been discovered, however other fans on social media have confirmed the woman as a fan and said the pair previously dated in his earlier years before major fame.

Madden began dating actress Cameron Diaz in May 2014. The two were unofficially engaged before Christmas Day in 2014 and were spontaneously married on 5 January 2015,^[11] in a Jewish ceremony, at their Beverly Hills home.^[12]

He is known for having many tattoos, including a tattoo of Benjamin Franklin, which covers his entire back.^[13]

Madden is an avid MMA and boxing fan. He has competed in several amateur fights since 2010. Growing up in Maryland, Madden and his brother became big fans of the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Redskins. He has the Orioles O's tattooed by his ear. He owns a Bengal cat named Danzig and has a collection of both new and old cars, including a Porsche 911, 64 Chevy Impala, Lamborghinis, Audi R8, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a 63 Ford Galaxie.

Discography

With Good Charlotte

With The Madden Brothers

• Before — Volume One (2011)
• Greetings from California (2014)^[14]

Vocal appearances

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

• Rancid – "Fall Back Down"
• The White Tie Affair – "Candle (Sick and Tired)"
• Junior Sanchez – "Elevator"
• Young Dre The Truth – "Cheah Bah"
• Mest – "Jaded (These Years)"
• The 69 Eyes – "Dead N' Gone"
• Fenix Tx – "Threesome"
• Rad Omen – "Rad Anthem"
• Brand New – "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad"
• Escape the Fate – "10 Miles Wide"
• The Madden Brothers – "Oh My God"
• The Frey-Love Don't Die
• The Madden Brothers - "We Are Done"

See also

• List of guitarists

References

External links

• Benji Madden at the Internet Movie Database
• Good Charlotte official website