She was born as Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal to politician Diosdado Macapagal and his wife, Evangelina Macaraeg Macapagal. She is the sister of Dr. Diosdado "Boboy" Macapagal, Jr. and Cielo Macapagal Salgado. She spent the first years of her life in Lubao, Pampanga, with her two older siblings from her father's first marriage. At the age of four, she chose to live with her maternal grandmother in Iligan City. In 1961, when Arroyo was just 14 years old, her father was elected as president. She moved with her family into Malacañang Palace in Manila.
In 1968, Arroyo married lawyer and businessman Jose Miguel Arroyo of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, whom she had met while still a teenager. They had three children, Juan Miguel (born 1969), Evangelina Lourdes (born 1971) and Diosdado Ignacio Jose Maria (born in 1974). She pursued a master's degree in Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University (1978) and a Doctorate Degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines Diliman (1985). From 1977 to 1987, she held teaching positions in several schools, notably the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University.
Arroyo entered politics in the 1992 election, running for senator. Arroyo ranked 13th in the elections, earning a three-year term. She was re-elected in 1995, topping the senatorial election with nearly 16 million votes.
Arroyo considered to run for the presidency in the 1998 election, but was persuaded by President Fidel V. Ramos and leaders of the administration party Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats to instead seek the vice-presidency as the running mate of its presidential candidate, House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. Though the latter lost to popular former actor Joseph Estrada, Arroyo won the vice presidency by a large margin, garnering more than twice the votes of her closest opponent, Estrada's running mate Senator Edgardo Angara.
On June 30, 2004, in a break with tradition, Arroyo first delivered her inaugural speech at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. She then departed for Cebu City for her oath taking, the first time that a Philippine president took the oath of office outside of Luzon.
Allegations of cheating against Arroyo gained momentum one year after the May 2004 elections. In a press conference held on June 10, 2005, Samuel Ong, former deputy director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) claimed to have audio recordings of wiretapped conversations between Arroyo and an official of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). Virgilio Garcillano, a former COMELEC commissioner, would later be identified as the official talking to Arroyo.
On July 3, 2009, it was announced that Arroyo had undergone a biopsy to examine lumps discovered in her breast and groin.
In November 2009, Arroyo formally declared her intention to run for a seat in the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga, making her the second Philippine President – after Jose P. Laurel – to pursue a lower office after the expiration of their presidency. After receiving final military honors at the inauguration ceremony of incoming President Benigno Aquino III, she headed straight to Pampanga for her own oath-taking as congresswoman.
In early 2011 she was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis or cervical radiculopathy. She was rushed to the St. Luke's Medical Center in Global City Taguig July 25, 2011, minutes after the State of the Nation Address by Benigno Aquino III.
Arroyo was arrested on November 18, 2011 after a Pasay court issued a warrant of arrest against her, following the filing of a complaint for electoral sabotage by the Commission on Elections. The arrest warrant was served at a St. Luke's Medical Center at Taguig where Arroyo had been confined. She was transferred to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on December 9, 2011. Arroyo was released from hospital arrest on bail on July 25, 2012.
On July 19, 2016, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the dismissal of plunder case against Arroyo, gathering a vote of 11-4 which was read by spokesperson Theodore Te. Seven of the 11 judges who voted for acquittal were appointed by Arroyo and three of the four justices who voted against Arroyo's acquittal were appointees of former President Benigno Aquino III, including Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
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