Background
Nephew of actor Claude Melki (The Acrobat), Melki grew up in a Jewish family from Algeria. His father, an antiques dealer, came from Khenchela in Algeria and his mother was from France. Both hid during the Algerian War: his father in Lyon and his mother in Normandy.
His father sent him to a woodworking school, but Melki only stayed a few months.
Career
At 20 he decided to move towards comedy and took multiple drama classes. Fearful of not being up to par he went to live for several years in Italy. After a first appearance on screen in in the Claude Chabrol film Betty, Gilbert Melki rose to prominence in 1996 through Would I Lie To You? in which he played Patrick Abitbol, a great businessman and millionaire megalomaniac, a role he revisited in the sequel in.
His later films include the film Crustacés et Coquillages.
In, he moved to television with the Canal+ comedy series Kaboul Kitchen.