Malkovich was born in Christopher, Illinois, of Croatian descent on his father's side and of Scottish and German ancestry on his mother's. He grew up in Benton, Illinois in a large house on South Main Street. His father, Daniel Malkovich, was a state conservation director and publisher of Outdoor Illinois, a conservation magazine. His mother, Joanne, owned the Benton Evening News (a local newspaper in Benton), as well as the Outdoor Illinois. Because of his father's work, the Malkovich family is widely acknowledged as one of the founding families of the environmental movement in Illinois. He was an athlete in high school. He transferred to Illinois State University from Eastern Illinois University, where he only spent one semester with an interest in ecology, but he soon changed his major to theatre.Malkovich was married to actress Glenne Headly from 1982 to 1988. They divorced and Malkovich briefly dated Michelle Pfeiffer, his co-star in Dangerous Liaisons. He later married Nicoletta Peyran, with whom he has two children. He is fluent in French and for nearly 10 years, Malkovich lived and worked in the theatre in southern France. Since 2003 he has lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Of the many people he has worked with, Malkovich is often associated with Gary Sinise, a fellow Steppenwolf Theatre Company alum. Joan Allen was a fellow drama student at Eastern Illinois University whom Malkovich brought into Steppenwolf. He met actor John Mahoney in a Chicago acting class years later, and advised him to join Steppenwolf.
On April 4, 2005, while speaking at Illinois State University, Malkovich was awarded a diploma in theatre. When attending the university as a student in the 1970s, he failed to take his last remaining graduation requirement, the U.S. Constitution test. This requirement was waived in order to award him the diploma.
Quick Info
Born John Gavin Malkovich
December 9, 1953, Christopher, Illinois, USA
Spouse(s)
- Glenne Headly (1982-1988)
- Nicoletta Peyran (1989-present)
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