Joel Rueben Madden (born Joel Rueben Combs; March 11, 1979) is an American singer, record producer, actor, DJ, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, best known as the lead vocalist for the pop punk band Good Charlotte.
Madden was born Joel Rueben Combs in Waldorf, Maryland. He has an identical twin brother, Benji Madden, who plays lead 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.
In 1995, at the age of 16, Joel Madden attended the Beastie Boys Ill Communication Tour with his brother Benji. 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. They took the name Good Charlotte from a children's book.
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.