Born in Bacoli (province of Naples) in 1957, at the age of twenty Vincenzo Salemme joined Eduardo De Filippo's theatre company. He made his debut in an important role alongside Monica Vitti and Ferruccio De Ceresa in Il cilindro.
From then on, Salemme continued to work uninterruptedly with the Compagnia di De Filippo until 1992 and took part in all the plays staged by Eduardo and - following Eduardo's death - by his son Luca.
After working with Carlo Cecchi and Glauco Mauri, he branched out on his own in 1990 and set up numerous shows with the theatre company Chi è di scena, including in 1997 L'amico del cuore, which was subsequently adapted for the cinema. As a cinema actor, he is best known for his lead role in Il tuffo, the first work of Massimo Martella.