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. Read more...

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 Read more...

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 Read more...