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

Early life

Joel Madden was born Joel Reuben Combs in Waldorf, Maryland to an Irish-American family.Fact: date=March 2009 He has an identical twin brother, Benji Madden, who plays rhythm guitar in their band Good Charlotte. He also 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 sixteen years old his father left the family, causing them financial hardships. 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 hair at a salon. While in his early twenties, Madden, along with his siblings, changed his last name from Combs, his father's last name, to his mother's maiden name, Madden. He did so to distance himself from his father.

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.

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. The Madden Brothers also have a side project called Dead Executives.

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. He is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Personal life

Joel started dating Hilary Duff in 2004, when she was 16-years-old, and he was twenty-five. In November 2006, after two and a half years, Madden and Duff broke up.

Madden currently resides in Hollywood, California with his fiancee Nicole Richie and their daughter Harlow Winter Kate Madden, who was born on January 11, 2008. Madden has one niece, Clementine, who was born December 20, 2007.

Joel Madden and Nicole Richie announced that they're expecting again, in February 2009 with the baby due in later August/early September.