Julian McMahon

Early life and education

Julian Dana William McMahon was born in Sydney on 27 July 1968, the son of Sonia (), 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 on 10 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 two sisters and was of Irish descent through his father.

In an interview with the Herald Sun in 2018, McMahon discussed his childhood: "My Dad... was born in 1908. That's a very different time to what it was when he was raising me. He must have gone through a strange misunderstanding of how you were parented in 1908 versus how you parent in 1972; it would have been so conflicting. Also how you be a husband in that period of time would have been different."

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 started modeling at age 17 and travelled to fashion hubs including Los Angeles, New York, Milan, 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 Australian soap opera Home and Away.

Career

McMahon made his television acting debut in the short-lived daytime soap opera The Power, The Passion, where he played Kane Edmonds. He joined the cast of Home and Away as soldier Benito "Ben" Lucini in late 1989, with his first episode airing in February 1990. McMahon chose not to renew his contract, which expired in December 1990 and he departed along with Sharyn Hodgson, who played his on-screen wife Carly Lucini.

In the early 1990s, McMahon struggled to obtain a work permit for the United States and as a result he missed out on a few roles. McMahon's big break Hollywood role was on the soap opera Another World when he was cast as Ian Rain in 1993. The first scene he shot in New York for the show had him emerge from a pool in a speedo at the Cory Mansion. He remembered the experience as "pretty magical".

McMahon won recognition for his portrayals in American television dramas, such as Detective John Grant in the crime drama Profiler (1996–2000), Cole Turner in the supernatural drama Charmed (2000–2003) and Dr. Christian Troy in the medical drama Nip/Tuck (2003–2010). He also appeared in films with leading and supporting roles, such as Chasing Sleep (2000) alongside Jeff Daniels, Doctor Doom in the Fantastic Four duology (2005 and 2007), Premonition (2007) alongside Sandra Bullock, Red (2010) alongside Bruce Willis, Faces in the Crowd (2011) alongside Milla Jovovich, and Bait 3D (2012) alongside Sharni Vinson and Phoebe Tonkin.

According to McMahon, he was one of the actors in the running to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. Nip/Tuck garnered him a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama Series.

In 2018, McMahon returned to Australia to film Swinging Safari in Queensland, alongside Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue, Radha Mitchell, Asher Keddie and Jeremy Sims. The film is set in the 1970s and sees McMahon sport a handlebar moustache. McMahon and his former sister-in-law Kylie Minogue share an improvised kiss in a scene where couples partner swap. He stated that he had found it difficult speaking with an Australian accent in the film because the majority of his career he had adapted to performing with an American accent.

From 2020 to 2022, McMahon starred as Jess LaCroix in the CBS crime drama FBI: Most Wanted. He stated that when he received the script for the series from CBS, he had an "aha moment" and knew he had to play the character. He also made guest appearances in parent series FBI and in spin-off FBI: International. McMahon departed the series mid-way through the third season; his final episode, "Shattered", aired 8 March 2022.

Most of McMahon's roles were villains or damaged characters, roles to which he felt attracted.

McMahon's final acting role was in The Residence in 2025; the show was subsequently cancelled on the same day of his death.

Personal life and death

In 1994, McMahon married singer and actress Dannii Minogue after meeting on the set of Home and Away in 1991. 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 daughter together before divorcing in 2001. McMahon married for the third time in 2014 to Kelly Paniagua.

McMahon resided in the United States from the 1990s until his death, but said his soul was still Australian: "I feel like I'm Australian on the inside and American on the outside or something. I would never want to leave it behind either. I love Australians, Australianisms, I love my part of being Australian. I love where I grew up and how I grew up and, you know, I wouldn't change it for the world." He became a citizen of the United States via naturalisation, but retained Australian citizenship.

Death

McMahon died from lung metastasis caused by head and neck cancer, in Clearwater, Florida, on 2 July 2025. He was 56 years old. His remains were subsequently cremated.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Magee, Caolán. (4 July 2025). "Julian McMahon, Fantastic Four, Nip/Tuck and Charmed actor, dies aged 56". The Guardian.
2. Idato, Michael. (5 July 2025). "The prime minister's son who found a home in Hollywood".
3. "McMAHON, the Rt. Hon. Sir William (Billy), GCMG, CH".
4. "William McMahon: during office".
5. "Julian McMahon Interview". Popsyndicate.com.
6. "How Julian McMahon kissed and made up with ex-sister-in-law Kylie Minogue on Swinging Safari".
7. "Famous Sydney Grammar School Alumni".
8. "Julian McMahon Premonition & Fantastic Four 2 Interview".
9. "Julian McMahon".
10. Books, Hephaestus. (27 August 2011). "Articles On University Of Wollongong Alumni, including: Julian Mcmahon, Karl Kruszelnicki, John Tranter, Bill Neskovski, Wendy Richardson, Estelle ... (activist), Mark Cutifani, Harry Goodhew".
11. Bryant, Jacob. (6 May 2016). "'Hunters' Star Julian McMahon Recalls How Levi's Commercial Led to First Series Role in Australia".
12. Brown, David. (2 December 1989). "Julian soldiers on... into Summer Bay!".
13. Brown, David. (1 September 1990). "Summer Bay bail-out".
14. Gidlow, Steve. "Julian McMahon on Why CBS' "FBI: Most Wanted" Was the Right Move".
15. (8 December 2020). "Catching Up With FBI: MOST WANTED Star Julian McMahon (ex-Ian, ANOTHER WORLD)".
16. (25 February 2005). "Nip/Tuck star may squeeze into Bond role". The Guardian.
17. "Golden Globe Awards 2005 Nominee Julian McMahon". [[Dick Clark Productions]].
18. Johnson, Neala. (16 January 2018). "How Julian McMahon kissed and made up with ex-sister-in-law Kylie Minogue on Swinging Safari".
19. Trapunski, Charles. (6 May 2020). "Interview: FBI: Most Wanted's Julian McMahon".
20. (7 March 2022). "'FBI: Most Wanted' Boss Teases Julian McMahon's 'Bittersweet' Departure".
21. (2 January 2019). "Runaways: Interview: Julian McMahon".
22. (13 November 2018). "Julian McMahon Interview: Monster Party".
23. Andreeva, Nellie. (July 2, 2025). "Netflix Freshmen 'Pulse' & 'The Residence' Canceled, 'No Good Deed' On Indefinite Pause".
24. (1 October 2019). "'I wasn't allowed near her.' For 18 months, Dannii Minogue had a MIL who wouldn't speak to her.".
25. "Madison McMahon - Women's Volleyball".
26. Brookfield, Joanne. (22 February 2017). "How to survive in Hollywood – tips from successful Australians".
27. Andreeva, Nellie. (July 4, 2025). "Julian McMahon Dies: 'Nip/Tuck', 'Fantastic Four', 'FBI: Most Wanted' Star Was 56".
28. (10 July 2025). "Julian McMahon's Cause of Death Revealed After "Nip/Tuck" Actor Dies at 56 (Exclusive)". [[People (magazine).
29. Stratton, David. (7 December 1993). "Exchange Lifeguards".
30. Geurts, Hans. (11 December 2006). "Magenta (1997)".
31. McCarthy, Todd. (20 September 2000). "Chasing Sleep".
32. "Meet Market - Full Cast & Crew". [[TV Guide]].
33. Scott, A.O.. (8 July 2005). "Even Comic-Book Superheroes Can Use a Little More Momentum".
34. Sawaya, George. (28 March 2007). "'Premonition' lacks excitement".
35. (8 April 2007). "Sarasota Film Festival schedule".
36. Dargis, Manohla. (14 June 2007). "Armageddon Comes Knocking".
37. Scott, A.O.. (14 October 2010). "Who Ya Callin' Gramps, Junior?".
38. Shoji, Kaori. (4 May 2012). "'Faces in the Crowd'".
39. Rooney, David. (29 August 2012). "Bait 3D: Venice Review".
40. Adams, Mark. (6 March 2013). "Fire With Fire".
41. Gibbs, Ed. (1 September 2013). "Paranoia review: thriller in vanilla".
42. Goldstein, Gary. (9 October 2014). "ALS drama 'You're Not You' pulls its emotional punch".
43. Buckmaster, Luke. (12 December 2017). "Swinging Safari review – Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce in outrageous ode to 70s Australia".
44. Salemme, Danny. (13 November 2018). "Julian McMahon Interview: Monster Party".
45. Blyth, Antonia. (20 May 2024). "'The Surfer's Julian McMahon On Getting Creative With Nicolas Cage: "We Both Like To Throw A Lot Of Things Out There"- Cannes Studio".
46. Kennedy, Lisa. (7 August 2024). "'The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat' Review: A Star Trio Carries This Slightly Tempered Version of Inseparable Friends Novel".
47. (5 July 2025). "Australian actor Julian McMahon dies after 'valiant effort to overcome cancer'".
48. Taylor, Caleb. (5 July 2025). "From Summer Bay to Hollywood heartthrob: The meteoric rise of Julian McMahon's career as he tragically passes away at 56".
49. (20 March 2010). "1990: March 3-9". Southdown Press.
50. Botwin, Michele. (28 May 1999). "Julian McMahon, 'Profiler's' Distant Detective".
51. Tapp, Tom. (4 July 2025). "Julian McMahon: His Life & Career In Photos From 'Nip/Tuck' To Doctor Doom & More".
52. Andreeva, Nellie. (10 March 2012). "Angela Bassett & Julian McMahon To Co-Star In Fox's Karyn Usher Spy Pilot".
53. Wiegand, David. (7 October 2013). "'Full Circle' review: Old play comes around again".
54. Wagmeister, Elizabeth. (17 December 2014). "Julian McMahon Joins Syfy Miniseries 'Childhood's End'".
55. Tanswell, Adam. (8 April 2016). "Hunters TV series "Really Pushes Boundaries"".
56. Patten, Dominic. (7 October 2016). "'Dirk Gently' NY Comic-Con Sneak Peek + Julian McMahon & Jessica Lowndes Join Cast".
57. Matadeen, Renaldo. (27 December 2018). "Runaways Season 2's Game-Changing Finale, Explained".
58. (30 May 2024). "FBI: Most Wanted: Why Julian McMahon's Jess LaCroix Was Killed Off".
59. Lenton, Patrick. (26 March 2025). "The Residence: new Netflix series proves the US is weirdly obsessed with Aussie culture".
60. "Julian McMahon".
61. "2004 8th Annual Satellite Awards". International Press Academy.
62. Birnbaum, Debra. (4 July 2025). "Julian McMahon remembered: His best performances, from 'Nip/Tuck' to 'Fantastic Four'".
63. Staveley, Patrick. (5 July 2025). "Tributes flow for beloved Australian actor Julian McMahon following his death after a private cancer battle".
64. (24 October 2007). "Nominations announced for the L'Oréal Paris 2007 AFI Awards". [[IF Magazine]].
65. (26 August 2007). "Teen Choice Press Release". Stanton Company.