Michael Anthony (born June 20, 1954) is the bass guitar player and founding member of the hard rock band Van Halen. Anthony was born in Chicago, Illinois and the second of five children. He later moved to California where he attended Arcadia High School, graduating in 1972.

While Anthony was a good baseball player (catcher), his main interest in life was music once he left high school. His first band was called Poverty's Children. Other bands he played in included Black Opal, Balls and Snake.

In 1974, Eddie Van Halen, his brother Alex Van Halen along with David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony became known as Van Halen. They were signed to Warner Brothers in 1977 and released their self titled debut album on February 8, 1978.