He was born in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia). He received a Ph.D in Philosophy in Ljubljana and studied Psychoanalysis at the University of Paris).
Žižek is a professor at the European Graduate School and a senior researcher at the Institute of Sociology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is a visiting professor at several American universities (Columbia, Princeton, New School for Social Research, New York, University of Michigan).
Žižek is well known for his use of Jacques Lacan in a new reading of popular culture, e.g Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, V. I. Lenin, fundamentalism and tolerance, political correctness, subjectivity in post-modern times and other topics.
In 1990 he was candidate for presidency in the Republic of Slovenia.