Anthony Kiedis (born November 1, 1962) is the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He and bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary founded the California-based funk rock group in 1983. Kiedis is well known for his charismatic and energetic stage presence and soulful lyrics. Kiedis was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan to John Kiedis (a.k.a. Blackie Dammet) and Margaret "Peggy" Idema, and has two half-sisters, Julie and Jenny, and one half-brother, James. Anthony's parents divorced in 1968, when he was 5. He lived with his mother in Grand Rapids until he was 11, then moved to California with his father. He also spent ample time in Pennsylvania.
On his 12th birthday, he lost his virginity to his father's 19 year old girlfriend. Around this time, while a student at Fairfax High School, Anthony met Michael Balzary and the late Hillel Slovak, and would eventually go on to form bands with them (initially known Tony Flow & The Miraculously Majestic Masters Of Mayhem, finally settling on the Red Hot Chili Peppers).
Kiedis has had many struggles with drug addiction, including heroin and cocaine. His father introduced him to drugs at the age of 12. He initially forced himself to get clean after the heroin overdose death of former Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak in 1988 for five years, but relapsed many times. He finally became clean again on December 24th, 2000. He has admitted to temptations of another relapse but so far has managed to stay clean.
Kiedis claims that his dog, Buster (named after one of his all-time favorite comedians, Buster Keaton) played a big part in helping him stay clean from drug abuse. Sadly, Buster, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, has since died.
Kiedis appeared as an actor in the 1991 Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze vehicle Point Break playing Tone, the surfer, and also featured in The Chase in 1994 playing Will (alongside bandmate Flea). His earlier acting work saw him adopting the stage name "Cole Dammett" (after his father's nickname) and starring as Sylvester Stallone's son in the film F.I.S.T.
Kiedis and his band released their most recent album entitled Stadium Arcadium on May 9, 2006; the first single from the album, "Dani California", was released on May 2, 2006.
In 2004 Kiedis published a memoir named Scar Tissue which made it as high as 17th on the New York Times Bestseller List..
