On December 9, 1953 John Gavin Malkovich was born to an environmentalist father, Dan, and a newspaper executive, Jo-anne in Charleston, Illinois. He was one of five children and reported to have been a moody child. He was prone to temper tantrum's and as a result his siblings used to lock him out of the house during these episodes and yell "Mad dog" at him. Other than this oddity, his home life was well rounded and stable. In High School he had a weight problem which he liked by going on an all jello-diet until he had lost 70 pounds. All of this so he could join the football team. Upon graduating high school he attended Eastern Illinois University with the intention of following his father's footsteps. His interest in girls, though, outweighed his motivation to attend class and as a result he spent more time in the drama department than in class. Even after the girl he was hanging with moved on, Malkovich remained fixated with drama. As a result, he transferred to Illinois State University which had a better drama program and remained there until 1976.

In 1976, Malkovich at the prompting of friends Terry Kinneyand Jeff Perry, moved to Chicago where Gary Sinise had built a theater in the basement of a church. Not long afterward Malkovich, Kinney, and Perry, along with seven other actors, became founding members of Sinse's brainchild the Steppenwolf Theater Company. While the company was building its reputation, Malkovich took jobs as a bus driver, bookstore clerk, dish washer, and others to help make ends meet. Even while working at these jobs he still found time to involve himself in over 50 Stephenwolf productions in six years. In 1982, Malkovich tied the knot with fellow Steppenwolf thespian Glenne Headly, and broke into New York's off-Broadway along with Sinse in "True West" (Which he received some industry awards for.) In 1984, Malkovich scored his first role in film in Roland Joffe's "The Killing Fields" and won a Best Supporting Actor nomination for " Places in the Heart" which was released the same year. Since this time, Malkovich has become famous for his portrayals in a number of films. He is best known for his roles as the villian. Even so, Malkovich still remains heavily in theatre.

In 1988, Malkovich was filming "Dangerous Liaisons" with Glenn Close Michelle Pfeiffer Uma Thurman and Keanu Reeves. During the filming of this movie, rumors began to circulate that Molkovich and Pfeiffer were continuing their liaison of screen. Headly confronted Malkovich and not long afterward Malkovich found himself divorced, and dumped by Pfeiffer. Currently, Malkovich can be found in the company of, second wife, Nicoletta Peyran, an Asian Culture specialist, and their two children, daughter Amandine, and son Lowey.

Malkovich's career is marked by remarkable feats of energy followed by near collapse from the lime light. For example, in 1996 he appeared in five films and in 1997 he was only seen in one "Con Air", and in 1998 he had two films followed by an astounding six in 1999. Of his most recent films, two have received the most attention "Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" and "Being John Malkovich". For over 20 years Malkovich's portrayals have hit the hearts of fans and critics alike, but other than two nominations, he has yet to receive an Oscar though he has received a number of other awards for his theatre and film work. Currently, Malkovich shares his time between homes in Europe and the United States.