Background

Ethnicity: Anthony Kiedis's paternal grandfather’s parents were Lithuanian. His other ancestry includes Dutch, French-Canadian, English, Irish, Scottish, German, and distant French Huguenot.

Anthony Kiedis was born on November 1, 1962, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the United States, to Margaret "Peggy" (Noble) and actor John Michael Kiedis, known professionally as Blackie Dammett. Peggy and Jack married on July 2, 1960, following a whirlwind romance which saw them married within two months of meeting; within about the same time Jack was cheating on his new wife.

When Anthony was a child, his father was close friends with Bono and his then-wife, Cher, who often babysat Kiedis. His parents split when Kiedis was 3 years old.

Thereafter, he lived with his mother and visited his father. In December 1967, Kiedis and his mother returned to live permanently in Michigan after Peggy began dating Scott St. John who persuaded her to return from Los Angeles to her native state. Scott and Peggy married in 1968, however, this was to be another short-lived marriage for Peggy and Scott was no longer permanently on the scene by the time their daughter, Julie, was born on March 12, 1970.

Eventually, 11-year-old Kiedis convinced his mother to agree to let him live with his father in California. His father earned much of his money from dealing marijuana and other illegal substances. The father-son duo used to have drugs together.

Education

Kiedis attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where he met and made friends with Michael Balzary - better known later as Flea - and Hillel Slovak. Slovak had a band known as Anthym and Balzary eventually joined it as the bass player. Kiedis acted as the MC for some of their gigs. They were also interested in the emerging punk scene and caught shows by such acts as Black Flag.

Kiedis as a good student in spite of his drug abuse and graduated with honors from high school in 1980. He joined the University of California, Los Angeles, to study writing. By this time his drug addiction had worsened and it forced him to drop out of college.

Career

In 1982, Kiedis found inspiration for his vocal styling from the hit song, "The Message," from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He started a band with friends Slovak and Flea - although they were already in different bands - with Jack Irons on drums the following year. The group that would become known as the Red Hot Chili Peppers became a popular fixture on the Los Angeles club scene.

The group quickly went through a line-up change when Slovak and Irons left when their other band What Is This landed a record deal. Kiedis and Flea pressed on with their innovative funk-punk sound, bringing in guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez. The group eventually became known as the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Their 1984 self-titled debut didn't sell, but the group started to attract a following with their energetic live shows. Often over-the-top rebels, the Red Hot Chili Peppers even performed a few times while only wearing strategically placed tube socks. For their second effort, Freaky Styley, the group enlisted the help of funk superstar George Clinton to serve as their producer. The album also marked the return of Slovak and Irons to the band.

Kiedis's off-stage activities were starting to take over his life. He was using heroin and cocaine heavily, so much so that his bandmates kicked him out of the group for a while. Returning to Michigan for a time, Kiedis went through detox. He returned to Los Angeles and to the band but did not stay clean for long.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers released their third album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, in 1987. The album even made it onto the Billboard 200 album charts. The following year, Kiedis experienced a great personal loss. Longtime friend and bandmate Slovak died of a heroin overdose on June 25, 1988. After this tragedy, Irons decided to leave the band and Kiedis eventually went to a rehabilitation center.

Trying to regroup, Kiedis and Flea added guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight and drummer D.H. Peligro to the group, but this line up didn't work out. They then brought in guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith and recorded Mother's Milk. They began attracting more fans and more media attention. MTV aired videos for two tracks - "Knock Me Down" and their cover of Steve Wonder's hit "Higher Ground."

Working with producer Rick Rubin, the Red Hot Chili Peppers experienced a major career breakthrough with their next album, BloodSugarSexMagik, in 1991. The album sold more than 4 million copies, due in no small part to hits like "Under the Bridge," "Give It Away" and "Suck My Kiss." Frusciante ended up leaving the group before it joined the alternative music tour Lollapalooza in 1992.

After a few false starts, the Chili Peppers eventually replaced Frusciante with guitarist Dave Navarro, once with Jane's Addiction. This latest lineup recorded 1995's One Hot Minute, which went platinum. "Aeroplane" and "My Friends" were two of the biggest hits from the album.

In July 1997, Kiedis was involved in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles. He broke his wrist and forearm when he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. The following year, Kiedis sued the driver for damages.

By the time the Red Hot Chili Peppers released their 1999 hit record Californication, Frusciante was back in the band, replacing Navarro who left to pursue solo projects. "Around the World," "Scar Tissue" and the title track all did well on the rock charts. 2002's, By the Way, was also a strong seller, making it to the number two spot on the Billboard 200.

Kiedis borrowed the title from the Red Hot Chili Peppers hit "Scar Tissue" for his candid 2004 autobiography, in which he described his extensive drug use and relationships with such women as actress Ione Skye and director Sofia Coppola. He also disclosed that he had battled hepatitis C.

For the first time in 2006, the Red Hot Chili Peppers reached the top of the Billboard 200 album charts with Stadium Arcadium. The following year, Kiedis told Rolling Stone magazine that the Red Hot Chili Peppers had "disbanded for the moment." The band had toured extensively to support their latest album, and everyone wanted to take a hiatus. In addition to relaxing, Kiedis served as festival curator for the New American Music Festival around this time, in August 2008.

In August 2011, the Chili Peppers released I'm With You, their 10th studio album - and their first since Stadium Arcadium. The project included "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" - marking the band's 12th No. 1 single on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart - as well as the popular singles "Monarchy of Roses," "Look Around" and "Brendan's Death Song."

Touring the globe occupied much of the next three years, although the band's most prominent appearance was in America, playing with Bruno Mars at the half-time show for 2014's Super Bowl. By the end of the year, they'd begun writing songs, and entered the studio with Danger Mouse in the production chair and Nigel Godrich mixing. In 2016, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released their 11th studio album, Getaway, which featured the lead single "Dark Necessities."

Achievements

• 

  As the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiedis is one of the best-known figures in alternative rock. During Anthony's time with Red Hot Chili Peppers, the band has so far won six Grammy Awards and has sold over 60 million albums across the globe. In 2012 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their unique mix of rock, punk, funk, and rap that made them the truly unique band they are.
  
  Seven out of the band’s 11 albums are certified platinum - meaning, they have sold at least one million copies. Out of the seven, six are certified multi-platinum. In 2008, Red Hot Chili Peppers was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Point Break

    (Johnny Utah, an FBI agent goes undercover to unmask band ...)

    1991
  • F.I.S.T.

    (Sylvester Stallone stars in this hard-hitting, boldly amb...)

    1978
  • The Chase

    (Escaped convict Jack Hammond takes a woman hostage and se...)

    1994

• music

  • Red Hot Chili Peppers 1984
  • Freaky Styley 1985
  • The Uplift Mofo Party Plan 1987
  • Mother's Milk 1989
  • Blood Sugar Sex Magik 1991
  • One Hot Minute 1995
  • Californication 1999
  • By the Way 2002
  • Stadium Arcadium 2006
  • I'm with You 2011
  • The Getaway 2016
  • The Abbey Road E.P. 1988

Religion

Kiedis in touch with nature in terms of his spirituality. Kiedis practices Vipassana meditation and also follows the Kabbalah religion.

Politics

Anthony Kiedis said he's perfectly fine with musicians sharing their political opinions, considering it merely a part of the overall self-expression. He said: "If I'm a celebrity, I'm just trying to speak truthfully. I'm not a politically active artist, I make music because I want to create something beautiful and positive for this world. Politics are, after all, quite depressing."

Anthony added: "We strongly backed Bernie Sanders." As for choosing between Hillary and Trump, the singer said: "It's like having to pick between two poisons. Hillary fell ill, which may have surprising effects on the outcome. What matters is how quickly he gathers strength and manages to give a strong impression in the TV debates." As for Trump, Kiedis said: "We look at him as an entertainer. If Trump is lying or saying something outrageous, we think that now he is just some sort of actor."

Views

Anthony has followed vegetarianism and went vegan in 2008. He is also one of the founders of Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a nonprofit educational organization, he created together with other Red Hot Chili Peppers members. This organization helps youngsters in the Los Angeles area get affordable/free music lessons.

On May 11, 2011, Anthony donated the MTV European Music Award that the band had previously won to help raise funds for ongoing relief in devastated areas of Japan, which was hit with an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

Quotations: "What doesn't kill you only makes your book longer."

"Music that I really love and believe in and think is extraordinarily honest and beautiful doesn't always become popular. "

"When I was younger, I used to hate Germany. I hated the country, the people, the language, the culture, everything! But over the years I've grown to really appreciate the German people. I learned to admire their culture, the films, the poetry, the sculptures, the paintings, the music, and also the beautiful countryside. After all those years, and going there so many times, I really learned to love the country!"

"The fact that I was a junkie for a long time is only one slice of my own personal pie, which is made up of a lot of different slices."

"I knew there was never anyone to blame when people get into drugs. They're always responsible for their own behavior, and it's not the dealer, and it's not the friend, it's not the childhood."

Personality

Kiedis spent much of his youth listening to Sly Stone, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Stevie Wonder, artists who would eventually shape the Red Hot Chili Peppers' sound.

Kiedis has battled drug addiction, including heroin and cocaine, throughout his life. Since his father was an addict, Kiedis was constantly around his drug-using and -dealing father, as well as his father's friends, who engaged in the same activities. Some of Kiedis' early drug use came from substances he got from his father, including marijuana, which he first smoked when he was 11 years old. He used drugs for years, even into the formation of the band, where other members were also using. A few years into the band's career, he was briefly fired due to his heavy drug use, and at times it got so bad that he failed to show up to some of the band's performances. One night, Kiedis decided to go out and score drugs, which made him miss a performance so the band replaced him with singer Keith Morris. He tried to get clean after Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose (specifically using the method of speedballing) on June 25, 1988, saying he would never shoot up again. He entered rehab and ended up staying clean for five years, but he relapsed in 1994, causing a major delay in the release of the band's 1995 album, One Hot Minute, and he kept using on and off over the next six years.

The last major relapse was instigated by a doctor prescribing him Ultram despite Kiedis specifically asking for drugs that are not in the opiate family. To a recovering heroin addict, the synthetic opiate gives rise to strong cravings. This last relapse, like many previous ones, was to a degree also a byproduct of a tumultuous relationship with a woman. He has reportedly avoided another relapse since December 24, 2000. Kiedis wrote the song "Venice Queen" about a drug counselor who helped him get through some tough times, Gloria Scott. The song was written after she died of cancer.

Physical Characteristics: Kiedis has an athletic built with a height of 5 ft 9 in or 175 cm, and a weight of 77 kg or 170 lbs. He has dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

Quotes from others about the person

• "Anthony's made a kind-of progress spiritually and inwardly, that you just don't see with rock-stars nowadays. He's gotten so much better as a singer, as a lyricist, and as a human being." - John Frusciante

Interests

• yoga, pool

• Politicians

  Bernie Sanders

• Writers

  Charles Bukowski

• Artists

  Salvador Dali, Jim Jarmusch, David Lynch, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Spike Jonze, The Coen Brothers

• Sport & Clubs

  Basketball, Los Angeles Lakers

• Music & Bands

  The Everly Brothers, Henry Mancini, Sly Stone, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, LCD Soundsystem

Connections

Kiedis has been linked with several women much younger than him. He became a father for the first time in October 2007, when he and then-girlfriend Heather Christie welcomed a son, Everly Bear. The couple parted ways in 2008.

Father:

John Michael Kiedis (Blackie Dammett)

Kiedis’ father was a struggling actor, who dealt drugs and was a huge part of the singer’s later drug addiction as he introduced his young son to marijuana and cocaine. They had a rocky relationship.

In 2017, Kiedis dedicated "Soul to Squeeze" to his father who was battling dementia. He commented: "My father is fixin' to die and that's OK. He's had a wild, great journey and a helluva colorful badass life but he's sick and he's going to die now. He's pretty lost; he's just a spirit but I would like for everyone just to take ten seconds to send him some love to send his spirit some love because pretty soon he will be sailing on and I would appreciate it if his hometown could send him love for a whole ten seconds of love. Let's give it up. Ten! Thank you. Let's do this tune. Appreciate it."

Given his crazy, unconventional and unorthodox upbringing, Kiedis was developing a TV program inspired by his life and his relationship with his father for HBO. It was to be called Spider and Son. HBO lost interest. FX stepped in and it appeared the series would focus on both Anthony's and Blackie's autobiographies.

Mother:

Margaret "Peggy" Noble Idema

Kiedis’s mother raised him in the relative quiet of Grand Rapids, while his father lived in Hollywood, acting under the stage name Blackie Dammett.

Son:

Everly Bear Kiedis

Kiedis named his son Everly Bear after the Everly Brothers. The Everly Brothers are one of Kiedis’ favorite bands. Anthony also said: "My son Everly changed my life. Our relationship makes me forgive my father..."

ex-girlfriend:

Heather Christie

Anthony and Heather Christie dated from 2004 through 2008. She was only 18 when she started dating the then 41-year old singer. Though officially not together, Kiedis and Heather still remain good friends at least for the sake of the child between them. She has been cited as an inspiration for many of the songs written by Kiedis on the album Stadium Arcadium.

Acquaintance:

Cherilyn Sarkisian

When he moved to Los Angeles, the young Kiedis spent some time with Sonny Bono and Cher's family, often going to parties or accompanying them to skiing trips. Cher separated from Sonny by the time Kiedis was in the 8th grade. In the rock star’s autobiography, he said that Cher used to babysit him.

Acquaintance:

Olivia Wilde

Red Hot Chili Peppers tapped actress Olivia Wilde to direct the music video for Dark Necessities, the first single from the band's eleventh studio album, The Getaway.

colleague:

Sylvester Stallone

Kiedis acted as Sylvester Stallone’s son in the 1978 film F.I.S.T.

colleague:

Patrick Swayze

colleague:

Keanu Reeves

Friend:

Madonna Ciccone

Popstar Madonna had a brief fling with Anthony in 1993. The two continue to remain amicable and even had a performance together in 2009.

Friend:

Hillel Slovak

Despite his deep love for his bandmate, Kiedis skipped the 1988 funeral of guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died of a heroin overdose. He instead spent time fishing in a Mexican village, trying to deal with the pain of the loss.

Friend:

Flea

In the early 1980s, while attending Fairfax High School, Michael Peter Balzary - better known as Flea - met Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, and Jack Irons. Together they formed the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Friend:

John Frusciante

Frusciante joined the band in 1988 and appeared on albums Mother’s Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik before he left in 1992. He returned in 1999 before the release of Californication and remained in the band until his departure in 2009. Frusciante again joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in December 2019.

Anthony Kiedis said that John Frusciante was one of the easiest people to make music with.

Friend:

Chad Smith

Friend:

Jack Irons

Irons and Kiedis met at school.

Friend:

Josh Klinghoffer

Josh Klinghoffer revealed that the first time he met Anthony Kiedis, Flea, and Chad Smith, it was opening for RHCP when they toured with Foo Fighters and Stone Temple Pilots on separate tour legs in 2000. Klinghoffer was already friends with John Frusciante. Nine years later he joined the band.

References

• Scar Tissue
  2004