30 Amazing Facts About Anthony Kiedis Every Fan Must Know

Anthony Kiedis, a founding member of the most popular rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, has been a great influence on millions of upcoming musicians. His unusual upbringing, his battle with drug addiction, his famous onstage theatrics, and his outlandish lifestyle with the band, has indeed made him “rock ‘n’ roll history personified. Here are some really interesting facts about the musician that will make you love him more:

"Anthony Kiedis Addresses the Crowd - NAMU 2008" by CC Chapman is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

1.  On October 6, 2004, Kiedis published a memoir titled “Scar Tissue,” which he co-wrote with author Larry Sloman. Initially planned to be stories of his childhood, the memoir turned out to be his complete autobiography.
2.  Kiedis organized the New American Music Union, a two-day summer music festival set in August 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
3.  During the filming of the carpool karaoke segment of “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” he performed emergency CPR on a baby, as they were driving through Los Angeles.
4.  On May 11, 2011, Anthony donated a MTV European Music Award that had been previously won by the band in an effort to raise funds for relief in devastated areas of Japan, which was hit with an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
5.  He dedicated “Soul to Squeeze” to his father, during the Chili Peppers show of June 25, 2017, in Grand Rapids. His father was suffering from dementia, and died on May 12, 2021.
6.  Anthony Kiedis was born on November 1, 1962 to John Michael Kiedis and Margaret “Peggy” Noble, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has three half-siblings – James Kiedis, Julie Noble, and Jenny Noble.
7.  His father was a struggling actor, professionally known by the name Blackie Dammett, who has appeared in over 50 movies and TV shows.
8.  His father was close friends with Sonny Bono and his then-wife Cher. Bono was Anthony’s godfather, while Cher had babysat him many a times.
9.  His parents divorced when he was just three years old, in the year 1966. He moved with his mother, who raised him. She later remarried and has two children.
10.  He used to visit his father in Hollywood for two weeks, every summer, during his stay with his mother. At the age of 12, he moved to Hollywood with his father.

"Anthony Kiedis" by Leon Wilson is licensed under CC BY 2.0

11.  He has always idolized his father and claims his trips to meet his father to be the happiest, most carefree times of his life. His first acting role was through his father, under the stage name of Cole Dammett, in the 1978 movie “F.I.S.T.”
12.  His father John was into selling drugs, which had a huge impact on Anthony. In their time together, the two would often use marijuana and cocaine together. At the age of 14, Anthony accidentally tried heroin, for the first time, mistaking it for cocaine.
13.  His paternal grandfather emigrated from Lithuania with his family in the early 1990s. His other ancestry includes English, Irish, Dutch, French and Native-American Mohican.
14.  He attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where he met his future bandmate Flea. He had difficulties to find friends, but soon became best friends with Flea, and eventually inseparable.
15.  In fact, it was Kiedis who exposed Flea to rock music and punk rock in particular. He went on to become a significant influence on Flea’s musical career.
16.  He met Hillel Slovak, during his performance with his ban Anthym, at the age of 15. He invited Slovak to his house for a snack.
17.  Kiedis was an excellent student in school, often receiving straight A grades. He graduated with honors from high school in June 1980. He enrolled for writing at the University of California, Los Angeles.
18.  Kiedis, Slovak, and Flea started creating their own music after finding inspiration in a punk-funk fusion band called Defunkt.
19.  He rejected the violence and misogyny associated with the punk rock scene at that time and wished to create a more peaceful environment.
20.  In the year 1990, he had a brief relationship with singer Sinéad O'Connor, who inspired him to write "I Could Have Lied" on 1991's “Blood Sugar Sex Magik.”

"Anthony Kiedis (RHCP)" by Alberto Cabello Mayero is licensed under CC BY 2.0

21.  Throughout his life, he has constantly battled drug addiction, which had led to several feuds within the Red Hot Chili Peppers band. He was even briefly fired due to heavy drug use, just after a few years since the band was formed.
22.  Following the death of Slovak due to heroin overdose in 1988, he entered rehab and stayed clean for five years, but relapsed in 1994, which resulted in the delay of “One Hot Minute” album.
23.  From 2004 to 2008, he was involved in a relationship with Heather Christie. The couple has a son named Everly Bear, born on October 2, 2007. The duo was involved in a custody battle over Everly in March 2018.
24.  He and Faith No More/Mr. Bungle singer Mike Patton have been involved in an ongoing feud for more than 3 decades, although the bands have toured together in early 1980s.
25.  In the year 1989, Anthony accused Patton of imitating his style on stage, as well as in their music video of “Epic,” which resulted in the starting of the feud.
26.  While the first half of 1990s, saw them having face-to-face friendly encounters, the feud was reignited in 1999, when the release of Mr. Bungle’s album “California,” was pushed back by Warner Bros. Records.
27.  Publications such as Complex and Phoenix New Times has listed the Kiedis-Patton feud as “one of the best beefs in the history of rock.
28.  In August 2016, Fox News host Greg Gutfeld injected himself into the feud, claiming Faith No More to be "the greatest band in the universe", and took shots at the Chili Peppers and Kiedis.
29.  It was reported that Anthony was developing a series based on his autobiography for HBO, and that he had partnered with Catapult 360 partners Marc Abrams and Michael Benson. The series was scheduled to premiere in late 2010.
30.  However, in 2011, HBO announced that it was no longer interested in the series, following which FX picked up the rights. Still, the project never materialized, due to various factors.
31.  Anthony Kiedis Net Worth: $150 Million