By Bianca Sierra

FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Julian Dana William McMahon (27 July 1968 – 2 July 2025) was an Australian–American actor. He was the only son of Sir William McMahon, a former Prime Minister of Australia. He was best known for his roles as Ben Lucini in Home and Away, Detective John Grant in Profiler, Cole Turner in Charmed, Dr. Christian Troy in Nip/Tuck, Doctor Doom in the Fantastic Four duology, Jonah in Runaways, and Jess LaCroix in FBI: Most Wanted. For his performance in Nip/Tuck, McMahon was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama Series.

Most of McMahon’s roles have been villains or damaged characters, roles to which he felt attracted.

His sister-in-law Kylie Minogue at one point in his life.

McMahon was born in Sydney, the son of Sonia (née Hopkins), an heiress, socialite and fashion icon and William McMahon, a prominent Australian politician. His father was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives and a high-ranking minister in the 23-year Liberal Government for many years before Julian’s birth; he became the 20th Prime Minister of Australia in March 1971, when Julian was two years old. His mother left their three children in the care of a nanny to be with her husband in Canberra during his Prime Ministership. He had an older sister, Melinda, and a younger sister, Deborah. He was of Irish descent through his father.

McMahon was educated at the private, boys-only, Sydney Grammar School, which his father had attended. As a child he dreamed of being an army cadet and playing rugby. McMahon briefly studied law at the University of Sydney and economics at the University of Wollongong. McMahon found no interest in his studies, and began a modelling career. He became known as a model in various fashion capitals, such as Milan, London, New York City, Rome, and Paris.

McMahon was working in Europe when his father died in 1988, and returned to Australia for the funeral. While home, he filmed some Levi’s commercials which helped him land a role on the iconic Australian soap opera Home and Away.

In 1994, McMahon married singer and actress Dannii Minogue after meeting on the set of Home and Away in 1991. He starred in her music video clip for the single “This Is It”, a song that summed up the couple’s relationship and hopes for the future. The newlyweds spent a great deal of their marriage apart, due to McMahon pursuing his roles in the U.S. and Minogue following her music career in England. They divorced a year and a half later, with Minogue stating that her negative relationship with McMahon’s mother, Sonia, Lady McMahon, had been an issue from the beginning.

In 1999, McMahon married Baywatch star Brooke Burns. The couple had one child together before divorcing in 2001. McMahon married for the third time in 2014 to Kelly Paniagua.

McMahon died from cancer on July 2, 2025, aged 56, in Clearwater, Florida.