Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), known professionally as Flea, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He is a founding member and bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. and, along with vocalist Anthony Kiedis, the only member to appear on every one of the band's albums.
Flea's stepfather (The jazz musician Walter Urban) frequently invited musicians to his house for jam sessions. The family moved to Los Angeles, California, where Flea became fascinated by the trumpet. He had no interest in rock music at the time, instead idolizing jazz musicians like Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, and Dizzy Gillespie. Flea described his childhood home as violent; his stepfather was an aggressive alcoholic who eventually became involved in shootouts with police
Flea has been married twice and has three children. From 1988 to 1990, Flea was married to Canadian Loesha Zeviar (Loesha's name remains tattooed on Flea's chest). Their daughter, Clara Louise Zeviar Balzary, was born in 1988. Clara was featured in the band's Funky Monks documentary. She also has appeared at many shows and, as a child, provided artwork for the band's T-shirts and promotional material. She has also documented the band's I'm With You tour through photographs and videos. As an adult, Clara was most recently in the short-lived band the Tints and is also an artist and photographer, taking the promotional photographs for The Getaway.
In 2005, Flea was engaged to model Frankie Rayder, who was once named GQ magazine's sexiest woman in the world. The couple never married, however they had a child together, Sunny Bebop Balzary, who was born on October 26, 2005. The song "Hard to Concentrate" on the Chili Peppers' 2006 album, Stadium Arcadium, was written by Kiedis as a wedding proposal to Flea and Rayder. Flea and Rayder since split up. In 2019, Flea got married for a second time when he married fashion designer Melody Ehsani. Flea said of Ehsani, "My life has changed forever and I am eternally humble and grateful. The person who sees all of me and knows who I am. My wife @melodyehsani."
Flea incorporates elements of funk (including prominent slap bass), psychedelia, punk, and hard rock in his playing. In 2009, Rolling Stone readers ranked Flea the second-best bassist of all time, behind John Entwistle.