March 11th, 2008 - Happy Birthday Benji and Joel Madden!

The Madden’s were born to a middle class Irish-American family in Waldorf, Maryland. They have an older brother named Josh, and a younger sister named Sarah. They attended La Plata High School in La Plata, Maryland.

When they were 15 years old their father left the family, causing financial hardship. The teenagers took up various odd jobs to help their mother with the family’s bills. One job he and his brother, Benji, took up was washing people’s hair at a salon. While in their early 20s, the boys changed their last name from Combs, their father’s name, to their mother’s maiden name, Madden. They did this to further themselves from their father, who had left the family.

They took their name from a children’s book called Good Charlotte: The Girls of Good Day Orphanage by Carol Beach York, and have released four albums in total, most notably 2002’s multi-platinum seller The Young and the Hopeless, which spawned the singles, “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous”, “The Anthem”, and “Girls & Boys”.

Their newest album, Good Morning Revival, was released on March 19, 2007 in Europe and on March 27, 2007 in the North America. The band is fronted by identical twin brothers Joel (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (lead guitar and backing vocals). Other members of the band include Billy Martin (rhythm guitar and keyboards), Paul Thomas (bass guitar) and Dean Butterworth (drums and percussion).

Benji and his brother Joel both became vegetarians under the influence of fellow band mate Billy Martin. As of ‘03, Benji has taken a stricter vow on his eating habits by adapting to a vegan lifestyle. Benji is currently living in Glendale, California.

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Terrence Howard/Actor -39
Johnny Knoxville/Actor -37
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Thora Birch/Actress -26

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