Anthony Kiedis is the lead singer and co-founder of the popular American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. The group was formed in 1983, and have achieved a great deal of mainstream success worldwide over the past two decades.

Kiedis was born November 1, 1962 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of 11 to live with his father, a heroin addict, who introduced Anthony to a lifestyle of addiction that he would struggle with well into adulthood. Kiedis briefly went to UCLA but eventually dropped out, and played in several bands with some friends he met in high school, including bassist Flea. Eventually they settled on the name Red Hot Chili Peppers, and released three albums in the mid-1980s, gaining a cult following in the United States. They achieved some mainstream success with their fourth album Mother's Milk in 1989, which reached # 52 on the Billboard charts. Their fifth album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, was produced by Rick Rubin and released in 1991. The album provided several hit singles, and the group soon became world-famous. Blood Sugar Sex Magik reached # 3 on the Billboard chart, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers headlined the Lollapalooza music festival in 1992. Their most recent album Stadium Arcadium was released in 2006, and become their first # 1 record in the United States.

Kiedis writes most of the group’s lyrics and works on the melodies as well, while the rest of the band writes the music. The Red Hot Chili Peppers began as an eclectic mix of funk, punk rock, rap and hip hop music, with Kiedis rapping party lyrics over a hectic sound led by the frenetic bass work of Flea. They were also known for their exciting stage presence. Over the years they have settled into a more mainstream sound, with more focus on conventional songwriting and melody, and less on hip hop and avant-garde elements. Anthony Kiedis has a wide range of musical influences, including Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Bob Dylan and John Lennon. The Chili Peppers have had a number of lineup changes over the years, with Kiedis and Flea the only two original members still in the band.

Some of the group's more famous songs include 'Give It Away', 'Under the Bridge', 'Scar Tissue' and 'Californication', and their first hit single was a cover of Stevie Wonder's 'Higher Ground'. Kiedis appeared in a few television roles as a youngster, and has also acted in several feature films, including Point Break and The Chase. In 2004 he published his memoirs in book form, titled Scar Tissue. His godfather was Sonny Bono. Kiedis struggled for years with drug addiction, specifically cocaine and heroin, but has been clean since 2002. 

Kiedis is 5'9, and of Native American descent. He has two sisters and one half-brother. He is a vegetarian, practises yoga and loves to drink ginseng tea. He currently lives in the Hollywood Hills with his girlfriend Heather Christie, and they recently had a son named Everly Bear, born in October, 2007.