Age, Biography, and Wiki
Anthony Kiedis was born on November 1, 1962, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is best known for his dynamic stage presence and distinctive vocal style, which has been a cornerstone of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' sound. Kiedis co-founded the band in 1983 with bassist Flea, and they have been a driving force in the music industry ever since. For more detailed information, his biography is available on his Wikipedia page.
| Occupation | Autobiographer |
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| Date of Birth | 1 November 1962 |
| Age | 62 Years |
| Birth Place | Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Scorpio |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Height: 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm)
Weight: Approximately 70 kg (154 lbs)
These measurements are typical for a man of his stature and lifestyle.
Months went by, and only small amounts of material were written leading Chad Smith to publicly announce that Kiedis was suffering from writer's block, though Kiedis denied this. The rest of the recording was completed within the next month and their sixth album One Hot Minute was released in September 1995, featuring the band's new guitarist Dave Navarro. The album was met with mixed reviews and was a major departure from the band's funk-punk sound. The tour to support the album was also met with mixed results. Chad Smith broke his arm prior to the launch of the U.S. tour in 1995 so it was delayed until early 1996. Near the tour's end, Kiedis was involved in a motorcycle accident, which left him with a broken arm. The tour ended with the band's final set being cut short due to a massive typhoon. The year 1997 was dubbed "The Year of Nothing" by the band's bassist Flea.
| Height | 5 feet 9 inches |
| Weight | 154 lbs |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Anthony Kiedis has been involved in several high-profile relationships over the years. He has a son, Everly Bear Kiedis, born in 2007, with model Heather Christie. Kiedis’ personal life often reflects his creative and vibrant personality, as seen in his music and public appearances.
Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his mother, and then moved shortly before his twelfth birthday to live with his father in Hollywood. While attending Fairfax High School, Kiedis befriended students Flea and Hillel Slovak, who were members of the band Anthym. After high school, Kiedis took classes at UCLA, but dropped out in his sophomore year.
His paternal grandfather's family emigrated from Lithuania in the early 1900s. In 2004, Kiedis wrote that his paternal grandmother, Molly VanderVeen, "was a pastiche of English, Irish, French, and Dutch ". In 1966, when Kiedis was three years old, his parents divorced, and he was raised by his mother in Grand Rapids. His mother later remarried and had two more children. Each summer, Kiedis would visit his father in Hollywood, California, for two weeks, where the two would bond. Kiedis idolized his father, recalling: "Those trips to California were the happiest, most carefree, the-world-is-a-beautiful-oyster times I'd ever experienced." In 1974, when Kiedis was 12, he moved to Hollywood to live with his father full-time.
Kiedis's father sold drugs, and the two often used marijuana and cocaine together. At age 14, Kiedis accidentally tried heroin for the first time, mistaking it for cocaine. Through his father, Kiedis, who worked under the stage name of Cole Dammett, landed his first acting role, appearing as Sylvester Stallone's character's son in the 1978 film, F.I.S.T. He landed two more acting jobs, in an ABC Afterschool Special and an appearance in the film Jokes My Folks Never Told Me.
Funk musician George Clinton was hired to produce the band's second album, Freaky Styley, as Slovak returned on guitar. The strong chemistry between Clinton and the Chili Peppers was felt instantly. Freaky Styley was released in August 1985. It received only a bit more attention than The Red Hot Chili Peppers with roughly 75,000 copies sold by year's end. The band hired Michael Beinhorn, their last resort among potential producers, to work on their next album. What Is This? had finally disbanded, and Irons returned to the Chili Peppers in mid-1986 after Martinez was fired. Flea, Slovak and Kiedis especially were involved in heavy drug use and their relationships became strained. Flea recalled that "it began to seem ugly to me and not fun; our communication was not healthy". Kiedis became dependent on heroin, leaving Flea and Slovak to work on much of the album's material by themselves. Both Kiedis and Slovak struggled with debilitating heroin addictions, which grew worse as the band was preparing to record The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. Due to his addiction, Kiedis lacked the motivation to contribute to the band musically, and appeared at rehearsal "literally asleep". He was asked to leave the band in order to undergo drug rehabilitation. During that time, the band won the LA Weekly Band of the Year award, which prompted Kiedis to quit using heroin cold turkey. He visited his mother in Michigan for guidance, who drove him to drug rehabilitation immediately after picking him up from the airport upon seeing his unhealthy appearance. Kiedis checked into a Salvation Army rehabilitation clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan, an experience which he initially detested until he noted that the other people in the clinic were understanding of his struggles and were trying to help him. He moved in with his mother after twenty days at the clinic, a time which marked the first time he was completely abstinent from drugs since he was eleven years old. After Kiedis completed his stint in rehabilitation, he felt a "whole new wave of enthusiasm" due to his sobriety and wrote the lyrics to a new song titled "Fight Like a Brave" on the flight home.
He rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Los Angeles to record the album. Upon returning home, he began dating actress Ione Skye, whom Flea met while appearing with her in the 1987 science fiction film Stranded. Although Kiedis had recently become clean, his withdrawal symptoms increased and affected his musical contributions to the group. After fifty days of sobriety, Kiedis decided to take drugs again as a one-time attempt to celebrate his new music, which led to his resumed addiction. The recording process for the album became difficult, and Kiedis would often disappear to seek drugs. Producer Michael Beinhorn recalled that, "There were points in pre-production where I really thought the record wasn't gonna get made." Kiedis felt "excruciating pain and guilt and shame" when he would miss a recording session so he would try to write lyrics while searching for drugs; although the band members were upset by his drug use and frequent disappearances, they were impressed with his musical output at the time.
The Chili Peppers entered the studio, and completed recording of their fourth album, Mother's Milk, in early 1989. Upon release, the album was met with mixed reactions from critics, but received far more commercial attention, peaking at number fifty-two on the Billboard 200. Although his band was experiencing greater success, Kiedis' withdrawal symptoms took a toll on his personal life. This led to the end of his two-year relationship with Ione Skye in December 1989: "I had managed to stay sober by not ingesting drugs, so my body had healed from all that torturous activity, but my mind still wasn't healthy enough to work out all the problems that come up in a relationship."
On August 26, 2011, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released their tenth album, I'm with You. On December 7, 2011, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were named 2012 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kiedis said it was very emotional and the first person he told was his father, who cried when hearing the news. On January 11, 2012, the Chili Peppers announced that they were forced to postpone the U.S. leg of their I'm with You tour due to multiple foot injuries suffered by Kiedis. Kiedis has been battling through foot injuries since 2006 when he injured his foot onstage and finally was able to have surgery during a break in the band's tour in January 2012. During the surgery, Kiedis had a crushed sesamoid bone removed and a detached flexor tendon repaired. The band was able to resume their tour and kicked off the U.S. leg on March 29, 2012. The tour in support of I'm with You ended in April 2013 and the band continued touring into mid-2014 which included a halftime performance with Bruno Mars at the Super Bowl in February 2014.
Kiedis received the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, presented at the UCLA Spring Sing on May 16, 2015. Kiedis' mother, Peggy Noble Idema, commented on her son receiving the award by saying "This really makes me proud. Both my parents and Grandpa Idema were huge Gershwin fans. I grew up with their music." Following his acceptance speech, Kiedis was joined on stage by his Chili Peppers bandmate Josh Klinghoffer for an acoustic performance of "Otherside", a cover of Sly and the Family Stone's "If You Want Me to Stay" and "By the Way".
Using the stage name Cole Dammett (adapted from his father's stage name, Blackie Dammett), Kiedis landed a number of small roles in television and film as a teenager in the late 1970s. His early credits include F.I.S.T. and the 1978 ABC Afterschool Special It's a Mile from Here to Glory. Resuming his acting work in the 1990s, Kiedis played a hooligan surfer named Tone, in the 1991 Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze movie Point Break. The Chase, a 1994 movie starring Charlie Sheen as an estranged man trying to escape the cops with a young woman he kidnapped, had Flea and Kiedis playing metalheads who chase Sheen's character in a 4 × 4 truck and end up crashing.
While creating lyrics and melodies for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiedis has drawn from various sources for inspiration. His first musical memory was hearing Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" at age eleven: "It moved me so much that I insisted my mother buy me the 45." In high school, he was highly influenced by the rap-style vocals of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" and the "in-your-face sexual lyrics" of Prince's "Dirty Mind". Kiedis writes most of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' lyrics. Starting with 1989's Mother's Milk album, John Frusciante and Flea have written nearly all of the music (excluding melodies) for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, while Kiedis adds lyrics and melodies he hears during instrumental jams by his bandmates. Kiedis said in 2006, "Somehow I find songs... in the bigness of what they're doing." His lyrical style has varied over the years. During the band's early years, Kiedis wrote many lyrics detailing his enjoyment of sex, drugs, and life in Los Angeles. As his musical tastes expanded and his outlook on life changed, he began writing songs about a wider spectrum of subjects. His lyrics include many of the same themes as the writings of Charles Bukowski, Kiedis' main literary influence.
His early vocal style with the band primarily consisted of rapping, leading him to be labelled as an influence on the rap rock movement. On Mother's Milk (1989), Kiedis wrote more melody-driven songs, rather than the basic rhythm and beat style of funk. The first song where Kiedis employed his new melodic style was "Knock Me Down". The melody was actually shaped and performed by guitarist John Frusciante. Upon joining the band, Frusciante sang lead vocals on the song along with Kiedis. Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991 still saw Kiedis rapping, but he also started singing in songs such as "Under the Bridge", "Breaking the Girl", and "I Could Have Lied". Over the years, Kiedis grew to favor singing over rapping. Kiedis has had many vocal coaches, but none of them had helped him sing "well." In fact, it was not until 1999's Californication that he felt he could take full control of his voice while singing.
On October 6, 2004, Kiedis published a memoir, Scar Tissue, which he co-wrote with author Larry Sloman. The book was originally intended to be a collection of stories of his childhood drug use, but evolved into a complete autobiography. He further explained: "One would just kind of assume that with all the [drug] consumption that my memory would be a bit shoddy. But it's actually pretty lucid, and better than both of my parents', or any of my friends'. My friends tried to recount these same stories, and they were like, 'Wow, I don't ... were we there?'" The book was an international bestseller.
Kiedis was developing a series for HBO based on his unconventional upbringing in Los Angeles. The show was expected to be loosely based on much of Kiedis' autobiography. He had partnered with Catapult 360 partners Marc Abrams and Michael Benson to create the series, titled Spider and Son. The series would center on Kiedis's relationship with his father, Blackie Dammett, who sold many drugs and mingled with rock stars on the Sunset Strip, all while aspiring to get into show business. The show was scheduled to premiere in late 2010 at the very earliest.
According to a post by Blackie on his Facebook page, the John Sayles script for the pilot episode was turned over to HBO on May 10, 2010. On October 14, 2011, it was announced that HBO was no longer interested in the series and that FX has picked up the rights to air the series. John Sayles, who wrote a script for the HBO pilot is no longer involved in the project. Entourage producers, Esther Dawson and Mike Chester will still produce the series and Kiedis will also co-produce the series along with Bram Sheldon. It is unknown if the series will still follow the relationship between Kiedis and his father Blackie or if the entire autobiography will be the focus of the series. In 2013, Dammett briefly mentioned the status of the series, which will be based on both Kiedis and Dammett's biographies, but stated that it was "mothballed" with hopes of resuming it once the Chili Peppers concluded their tour that year.
Kiedis's father, Blackie Dammett, was an actor who appeared in over 50 movies and television shows. Dammett also ran the band's fanclub for many years. Dammett's autobiography, Lords of the Sunset Strip, was released on March 31, 2013. Through Dammett, Kiedis also has a much younger half-brother. During the Chili Peppers show of June 25, 2017, in Grand Rapids, Kiedis dedicated "Soul to Squeeze" to his father, who was suffering from dementia. Dammett died on May 12, 2021.
Kiedis had a relationship with actress Ione Skye in the late 1980s starting when he was 24 and she was 16. Skye would split with Kiedis after a few years and would eventually marry Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys in 1992. Skye, who was 18 in 1989, was supposed to appear as the cover model on the Chili Peppers' 1989 album, Mother's Milk however the label felt she looked "a little young" she said so they used a different model. In January 2025, Skye posted the unused photo to her Instagram page saying that "it made me feel a little insecure to shoot it then not have it being used." In Skye's 2025 memoir Say Everything, Skye says that when she was 17 years old, Kiedis got her pregnant and that Kiedis paid for her abortion. “I was taking care of myself now, making a choice that felt good and important for my future. I would not have a baby at 17, with someone who didn’t want to be a dad, wouldn’t commit to me and had anger issues. Not to mention the heroin.” Skye said she was inspired to tell her life story due to social media critics that questioned her romance with Kiedis. "These girls on TikTok were saying things like, ‘How could my mom let me be with Anthony?’ And I sort of clapped back. Not in an aggressive way, but I was like, ‘Well, my mom was really upset that I was with a rockstar like Anthony Kiedis.’ And I don’t know, I kind of started feeling like I was able to tell my side of the story, and I had a lot to tell.”
Kiedis claims to have had a brief relationship in 1990 with singer Sinéad O'Connor, who inspired him to write "I Could Have Lied" on 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, though she denied the relationship at the time. He was also in a brief relationship with Spice Girls singer Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm, who inspired "Emit Remmus" from 1999's Californication. His band also covered their song "Wannabe" at a 1997 concert in Japan. Kiedis was in a relationship with fashion designer Yohanna Logan on-and-off from 1998 to 2003. Kiedis had a two year long relationship with Australian model Helena Vestergaard that ended in late 2014; the end of this relationship inspired much of Kiedis' lyricism for The Getaway.
Kiedis was in a relationship with Heather Christie from 2004 to 2008. They had a child born on October 2, 2007. In March 2018, Kiedis and Christie were involved in a custody battle.
In a June 2016 interview, Kiedis opened up about his past relationships, saying that there were years when he had over 100 sexual partners. Kiedis added, "If I saw a pretty girl, I wanted to have her." When asked about marriage and growing old and alone, Kiedis responded, "Maybe it is because I never learned to live in a relationship and as silly as it sounds, I do not understand women yet. They remain a mystery. I talked about this yesterday with a friend: do we focus on finding a person who fits with us, or will we remain single? I am open to both. If the right one comes – wonderful. If not, I accept what the universe has intended for me."
Kiedis has battled drug addiction, including heroin and cocaine, throughout his life. Since his father had more relaxed standards on drugs and experimented himself, Kiedis was constantly exposed to drug-using and drug-dealing behavior while growing up. Some of Kiedis's early drug use came from substances he got from his father.
The relationship was thought to have improved in the ensuing years, with Kiedis and Patton reportedly having friendly encounters with each other during the 1990s. The feud between the two was unexpectedly reignited in 1999. Mr. Bungle were scheduled to release their album California on June 8, 1999, but Warner Bros. Records pushed the release back a week so as not to coincide with the Chili Peppers' similarly titled album, Californication. Following the album release date clash, Mr. Bungle claimed that Kiedis had them removed from a series of summer festivals in Europe. Mr. Bungle's guitarist, Trey Spruance, added that the manager of the Chili Peppers apologized and blamed Kiedis for the removals. In retaliation, Mr. Bungle parodied the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Pontiac, Michigan, on Halloween of 1999. They covered several of the band's songs, with Patton deliberately using incorrect lyrics, such as "Sometimes I feel like a fucking junkie" on "Under the Bridge". In the middle of the concert, bassist Trevor Dunn (dressed as Flea) walked up to guitarist Spruance (dressed as the ghost of Hillel Slovak) and simulated injecting him with heroin. Patton (dressed as Kiedis) interrupted this by shouting, "You can't shoot up a ghost". Kiedis responded by having them removed from the 2000 Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand. Kiedis said of the festival shows, "I would not have given two fucks if they played there with us. But after I heard about [the] Halloween show where they mocked us, fuck him and fuck the whole band". Spruance later claimed that the parody was a retaliatory act towards Kiedis for having Mr. Bungle removed from several high-profile European festivals during the summer of 1999.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2023, Anthony Kiedis' net worth is estimated to be around $155 million to $160 million, primarily due to the immense success of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band has sold over 80 million records worldwide, and their tours consistently sell out large arenas. Kiedis also earns significant sums from songwriting royalties and his share of the band's music catalog.
In 1990, Kiedis was convicted for indecent exposure and sexual battery from an incident at George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia, in April 1989. He was ordered to pay a fine on both counts. Kiedis touched a woman's face with his penis after a concert at George Mason University in Fairfax County on April 21, 1989.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Music Career: Kiedis has been instrumental in shaping the Red Hot Chili Peppers' unique sound, which blends funk, rock, and punk elements. The band has released numerous critically acclaimed albums, including Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Californication, and Stadium Arcadium. Their music has been recognized with multiple Grammy Awards, and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
- Film Appearances: Besides music, Kiedis has appeared in several films, diversifying his creative output.
- Real Estate: He has invested significantly in real estate, owning properties valued at $30-$40 million across the U.S., including homes in Los Angeles, Malibu, Las Vegas, and Kaua'i.
- UFC Investment: Kiedis is a fan of MMA and has invested in the UFC since 2016. This investment reflects his interest in diverse business ventures beyond music.
Kiedis's lyrical style has evolved throughout his career; early recordings discussed topics such as sex and life in Los Angeles, while more recent songs focus on more reflective themes including love, addiction, and loss. He struggled with addiction until 2000, and maintains that he has been clean since then.
Kiedis began working with Flea and drummer Jack Irons, where he was described as a "manic master of ceremonies" before he even began singing for the group. Irons and Slovak began playing together in a high school band called Chain Reaction. The group included then bassist Tom Strasman and Chile-born vocalist and guitarist Alain Johannes. Strasman was intent on becoming a lawyer, and quit the band to focus on college. Flea soon offered Kiedis a position in the band. Kiedis began as a hype man, going out in front of the band and getting the audience pumped up.
Kiedis also organized the New American Music Union, a two-day summer music festival set for August 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He assembled a lineup of musicians including Bob Dylan, The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley, The Roots, and a second stage featuring college bands. (The lineup did not include Kiedis or the Red Hot Chili Peppers.) In 2011, Kiedis, along with his son Everly, appeared in the documentary, Bob and the Monster. The documentary details the life and career of musician and drug counselor, Bob Forrest. On May 11, 2011, Anthony donated a 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.
On April 5, 2023, it was announced that Kiedis along with Bob Forrest and Ron Burkle had formed the production company Said and Done Entertainment. Their first project will be an animated series for TBS called Hellicious which is based on the comic book of the same name. Kiedis will voice one of the main characters Briggy Bundy and will also serve as the executive producer for the series.
On May 12, 2025 it was announced that Kiedis and longtime friend Shane Powers founded the ready-to-drink coffee company "JOLENE". The name is in reference to the phrase "cup of joe" and also was inspired by the Dolly Parton song "Jolene". The coffee is available online for nationwide shipping, at select retailers in Los Angeles and New York City, and at live music venues and festivals in partnership with Live Nation.
Kiedis used drugs for years, including during the formation of the band. A few years into the band's career, he was briefly fired due to his heavy drug use. At times, it got so bad that he failed to show up to the band's performances. One night, after Kiedis missed a performance to score drugs, the band replaced him with singer Keith Morris.
Social Network
Anthony Kiedis is relatively private on social media platforms, focusing more on his music career and personal life. However, he occasionally appears on platforms through band-related activities or public events.
Kiedis acknowledges in his autobiography Scar Tissue that he had sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl when he was 23, before and after learning of her age, in the 1980s. This inspired him to write the song "Catholic School Girls Rule". In the wake of the MeToo movement, the actions of Kiedis have been criticized by several media outlets, including The Huffington Post.
Education
Kiedis attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where he met his future bandmate Flea. Their early interactions laid the groundwork for forming the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Beyond high school, Kiedis has not pursued formal higher education, dedicating himself to his music career.
Kiedis attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where he struggled to find friends, but he met his future bandmate Flea. The two had a brief confrontation, but then became best friends and bonded while sitting next to each other in driver's education class. Kiedis recalled, "We were drawn to each other by the forces of mischief and love and we became virtually inseparable. We were both social outcasts. We found each other and it turned out to be the longest-lasting friendship of my life." Kiedis became a significant influence on Flea, exposing him to rock music, particularly punk rock. At age 15, while Kiedis and Flea were jumping from a building into a swimming pool, Kiedis missed the pool and broke his back, but recovered.
At age 15, Kiedis met future bandmate Hillel Slovak after seeing him perform with his band Anthym. After the show, Slovak invited Kiedis to his house for a snack. Kiedis later described the experience, "Within a few minutes of hanging out with Hillel, I sensed that he was absolutely different from most of the people I'd spent time with ... He understood a lot about music, he was a great visual artist, and he had a sense of self and a calm about him that were just riveting." Slovak, Kiedis, and Flea often used LSD, heroin, cocaine, and speed recreationally. Kiedis excelled in school, often receiving straight-A grades. In June 1980, Kiedis graduated with honors from high school. That August, he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles to study writing.
