Joel Rueben Madden is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist for the pop-punk band Good Charlotte. He is also part of the pop rock collaboration the Madden Brothers with his identical twin brother Benji Madden.
In 1995, at the age of 16, Madden, his brother Benji, and a friend started their own band. The band was short-lived and the Maddens eventually recruited fellow high schoolers Paul Thomas, Aaron Escolopio, and Billy Martin to form their band Good Charlotte. They took the name Good Charlotte from the children’s book Good Charlotte: Girls of the Good Day Orphanage by Carol Beach York.
In 2015, Madden appeared as a guest in the American TV series Empire.
From the beginning of the show in 2012 to 2014, he was a solo coach on The Voice Australia. He teamed up with his brother Benji for The Voice Kids in 2014 and on the main series from 2015-2016. In 2013, Joel won the Logie Award for Most Popular New Male Talent for his role as a coach on the program.
Madden started dating Nicole Richie in December 2006. They have two children: a daughter born in 2008 and a son born in 2009. The couple confirmed their engagement in February 2010 and married on December 11, 2010. Joel’s brother Benji is married to actress Cameron Diaz.
Madden has residences in both Los Angeles and Sydney. Good Charlotte was particularly popular in Australia, and Madden has since labelled the country his “home away from home.”
In 2022, he served as the host of the fourteenth season of Ink Master, replacing Dave Navarro.
Madden has a trademark habit of chewing toothpicks to help reduce the number of cigarettes he smokes a day.