Age, Biography, and Wiki
John Gavin Malkovich was born on December 9, 1953, in Christopher, Illinois. His parents, Joe Anne (Choisser) and Daniel Leon Malkovich, played influential roles in shaping his early life. His father was a state conservation director, and his mother owned a local newspaper. Malkovich's paternal grandparents were Croatian. He joined the Steppenwolf Theatre in 1976, marking the beginning of his acting journey. His breakthrough came with an Obie award for Sam Shepard's play "True West." He made his film debut in "Places in the Heart" (1984), earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
| Occupation | Fashion Designers |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 9 December 1953 |
| Age | 71 Years |
| Birth Place | Christopher, Illinois, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Sagittarius |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
- Height: 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm)
- Weight: Approximately 80 kg (176 lbs)
- Body Measurements: Not detailed, but he is known for his tall and lean physique.
On June 6, 2013, Malkovich was walking in Toronto when a 77-year-old man named Jim Walpole tripped and accidentally cut his throat on a piece of scaffolding. Malkovich applied pressure to Walpole's neck to reduce bleeding before Walpole was rushed to a hospital, where he received stitches and later credited Malkovich with saving his life.
| Height | 185 cm |
| Weight | 176 lbs |
| Body Measurements | |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Malkovich has been married to Nicoletta Peyran since 1989. The couple has two children together. Prior to his marriage, he was in a long-term relationship with actress Glenne Headly from 1982 to 1988.
He grew up in Benton, Illinois. His father, Daniel Leon Malkovich, was a state conservation director, who published the conservation magazine Outdoor Illinois. His mother, Joe Anne (née Choisser), owned the Benton Evening News daily newspaper and Outdoor Illinois. He grew up with an older brother, Danny, and three younger sisters, Amanda, Rebecca, and Melissa. In a May 2020 interview, he revealed that Melissa is his only surviving sibling. His paternal grandparents were Croatian immigrants from the vicinity of Ozalj; his other ancestry includes English, Scottish, French, and German descent. Malkovich attended Logan Grade School, Webster Junior High School, and Benton Consolidated High School. During his high-school years, he appeared in various plays and the musical Carousel. He was also active in a folk gospel group, with whom he sang at churches and community events. As a member of a local summer theater project, he co-starred in Jean-Claude van Itallie's America Hurrah in 1972.
Malkovich played the title role in the film The Great Buck Howard (2008), a role inspired by mentalist the "Amazing Kreskin". Colin Hanks co-starred and his father, Tom Hanks, appeared as his on-screen father. In November 2009, Malkovich appeared in an advertisement for Nespresso with fellow actor George Clooney. He portrayed Quentin Turnbull in the film adaptation of Jonah Hex (2010). Malkovich in 2014 was the voice actor of Dave the Octopus in Penguins of Madagascar.
Malkovich married actress Glenne Headly in 1982. In 1988, the couple divorced following his affair with Michelle Pfeiffer. He began dating Nicoletta Peyran in 1989 after meeting her on the set of The Sheltering Sky, on which she was the second assistant director. The couple have two children, Amandine and Loewy.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Glenne Headly (m. 1982-1988) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, John Malkovich's net worth is estimated to be around $70 million. His income primarily comes from his acting career in films and television, producing credits, and fashion endeavors. He has appeared in over 70 films and has been involved in various high-profile projects, contributing significantly to his wealth.
Career, Business, and Investments
Malkovich's career is marked by his versatility:
- Acting Career: He has been nominated for two Academy Awards for "Places in the Heart" (1984) and "In the Line of Fire" (1993). Notable films include "The Killing Fields," "Dangerous Liaisons," and "Being John Malkovich".
- Producing: He has produced films like "Ghost World," "Juno," and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".
- Fashion: Malkovich is also a fashion designer and has his own clothing line, which adds to his income streams.
- Theatre: A founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre, he has maintained a strong connection to stage acting throughout his career.
Malkovich started his career as a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 1976. He moved to New York City, acting in a Steppenwolf production of the Sam Shepard play True West (1980). He made his Broadway debut as Biff in the revival of the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman (1984). He directed the Harold Pinter play The Caretaker (1986), and acted in Lanford Wilson's Burn This (1987).
In 1976, Malkovich, along with Joan Allen, Gary Sinise, and Glenne Headly, became a charter member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. He moved to New York City in 1980 to appear in a Steppenwolf production of the Sam Shepard play True West directed by Sinise, for which he won an Obie Award. One of his first film roles was as an extra alongside Allen, Terry Kinney, George Wendt, and Laurie Metcalf in Robert Altman's film A Wedding (1978). In early 1982, he appeared in A Streetcar Named Desire with Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theatre. Malkovich then directed a Steppenwolf co-production, the 1984 revival of Lanford Wilson's Balm in Gilead, for which he received a second Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award. Other Steppenwolf productions in which Malkovich has appeared include: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, directed by H. E. Baccus (1979); Burn This by Lanford Wilson, directed by Marshall W. Mason (1987); and The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys, directed by Terry Johnson (1996). He made his feature-film debut as Sally Field's blind boarder Mr. Will in Places in the Heart (1984). For his portrayal of Mr. Will, Malkovich received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also portrayed Al Rockoff in Roland Joffe's epic film The Killing Fields (1984).
Malkovich created his own fashion company, Mrs. Mudd, in 2002. The company released its John Malkovich menswear collection, "Uncle Kimono", in 2003, which was subsequently covered in the international press, and its second clothing line, "Technobohemian", in 2011. Malkovich designed the outfits himself. In an interview with Big Issue in 2024, Malkovich said that he "stopped doing fashion about six, seven years ago" but still enjoys seeing collections by "the great fabric designers".
Malkovich is the co-owner of the restaurant Bica do Sapato and Lux nightclub in Lisbon. He lost millions of dollars in the Madoff investment scandal in 2008. In the 1990s, Malkovich and Peyran bought a farm near Lacoste, Vaucluse, which the couple later turned into a wine label named Les Quelles de la Coste; they started planting grapevines there in 2008 and produced their first vintage in 2011. He has raised funds for the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, his sole charity.
Social Network
Malkovich maintains a relatively low profile on social media platforms, preferring to focus on his work and personal life rather than engaging publicly online.
Malkovich was directed for the second time (after Dangerous Liaisons) by Stephen Frears in Mary Reilly (1996), a new adaptation of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale, co-starring Julia Roberts. Malkovich also appeared in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), directed by Luc Besson, playing the French king-to-be Charles VII. Though he played the title role in the Charlie Kaufman-penned Being John Malkovich (1999), he played a slight variation of himself, as indicated by the character's middle name of "Horatio".
In 2008, directed by Austrian director Michael Sturminger, he portrayed the story of Jack Unterweger in a performance for one actor, two sopranos, and period orchestra entitled Seduction and Despair, which premiered at Barnum Hall in Santa Monica, California. A fully staged version of the production, entitled The Infernal Comedy premiered in Vienna in July 2009. The show has since been performed in 2009 through 2012 throughout Europe, North America and South America.
Malkovich stated in a 2011 interview that he is not a "political person" and that he does not have "an ideology", revealing that he had not voted since George McGovern lost his presidential run in 1972. At the Cambridge Union Society in 2002, when asked whom he would most like to fight to the death, Malkovich replied that he would "rather just shoot" journalist Robert Fisk and politician George Galloway, stating that Galloway was not honest. Journalists speculated that the comment was related to criticism of Israel and the war in Iraq.
Education
Malkovich attended Eastern Illinois University, where he studied theatre. He later moved to Chicago to pursue a career in acting, eventually joining the Steppenwolf Theatre.
After graduating from high school in 1972, Malkovich enrolled at Eastern Illinois University. He then transferred to Illinois State University, where he majored in theater, but dropped out. He studied acting at the William Esper Studio.
In 2014, the photographer Sandro Miller recreated 35 iconic portraits of John Malkovich as the subject, in a project called Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographer Master.
