McHale, the middle of the three brothers, was born Joel Edward McHale in Rome, Italy on November 20, 1971. His mother, Laurie, is from Vancouver, British Columbia, and his father, Jack, is from Chicago. McHale and his brothers were born in Rome, where their father worked for an American university. He grew up in the Seattle area, graduating from Mercer Island High School in 1991. Also he participated at Youth Theatre Northwest.