He was born on 5 December 1936, in
Paris to an Armenian father, Kevork Melikian (Georgiy Melikov), and Azerbaijani mother, Kawsar Asadullayeva. His father was accused of taking part in
March Days, but he was not found guilty after it was found out that he was defending his Muslim friend. Melikian's paternal grandfather Ambartsum Melikov was an oil billionaire who owned A.S.Melikov and Co in
Baku. His maternal-grandfather was
Mirza Asadullayev and thus was a nephew to
Banine. He grew up with his mother after losing father in 1945. == Education and career ==