Rajko Grlić was born in 1947 in Zagreb, SR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia. His father was Danko Grlić, famous Croatian philosopher. Grlić's (Gerlich) family by father's side came to Zagreb from Schwarzwald, Germany in the 19th century, while his mother Eva (née Izrael) is from Jewish family of Sarajevo.[2][3]
He graduated from the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU)[4] at the same time as Emir Kusturica, a Bosnian film director. During the Croatian war of independence Grlić moved to the USA.