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Flea: Biography, Facts and Career

Who is Flea? An evergreen, sourced profile: biography, key facts and career.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team4 min read✓ Fact-checked
Flea
Stefan Brending (2eight) via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), known professionally as Flea, is an Australian and American musician and actor. He is a founding member and bassist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Flea is the only continuous member of the band and, alongside vocalist Anthony Kiedis, the only one to appear on every album. Flea has also been a member of the supergroups Atoms for Peace, Antemasque, Pigface, and Rocket Juice & the Moon, and has played with acts including the Circle Jerks, the Mars Volta, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Alanis Morissette, Young MC, Nirvana, What Is This, Fear, and Jane's Addiction. Flea's playing incorporates elements of funk (including prominent slap bass), psychedelia, punk, and hard rock. In 2009, Rolling Stone readers ranked Flea the second-best bassist of all time, behind John Entwistle. In 2012, he and the other members of Red Hot Chili Peppers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Flea has acted in films and television series such as Suburbia, Back to the Future Part II and Part III, My Own Private Idaho, The Chase, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Dudes, Son in Law, The Big Lebowski, Low Down, Baby Driver, Boy Erased, The Wild Thornberrys, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Babylon. He is the co-founder of Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a non-profit organization founded in 2001 for underprivileged children. In 2019, he published a memoir of his early life, Acid for the Children. His debut solo album, Honora, was released on March 27, 2026.

Quick facts about Flea

  • Full name: Flea
  • Born: 1962-10-16
  • Nationality: United States
  • Known as: Musician
  • Wikidata ID: Q202859

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Flea?

Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), known professionally as Flea, is an Australian and American musician and actor.

What nationality is Flea?

Flea is United States.

When was Flea born?

Flea was born on 1962-10-16.

Sources

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