In tragic news, Australian actor Julian McMahon’s wife Kelly has announced his shock death. The star passed away on July 2, 2025, at the age of just 56.
“With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer,” Kelly said in a statement to US website Deadline.
“Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible. We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in life. We are grateful for the memories.”
While Kelly had told Deadline that Julian had passed away after a private battle with cancer, on July 11, his official cause of death was revealed. According to a Cremation Approval Summary Report from the Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida obtained by US People magazine, the cause of death was lung metastasis as a result of head and neck metastatic cancer. His manner of death was ruled natural.
In the wake of the news, fans and co-stars have taken to social media to share their own sorrow.
Along with his wife of 11 years, Kelly, Julian leaves behind his only child, Madison Elizabeth McMahon, 25. He welcomed Madison with his second wife, Baywatch star Brooke Burns, ahead of their divorce in 2001.
Born July 27, 1968, Julian was the son of former Australian Prime Minister Sir William McMahon and philanthropist Lady Sonia McMahon. As a result of his parents’ public status, alongside his sisters Melinda and Deborah, Julian was in the spotlight from an early age.
Having attended Sydney Grammar School – the same elite private school his father had once attended – Julian studied law at the University of Sydney and economics at the University of Wollongong. However, he threw in his studies to begin a modelling career, which took him to Europe and beyond.
When his father passed away, however, Julian returned home to Australia. And his model-perfect looks saw him catch the eye of casting agents.
After a short-lived stint on ill-fated soap The Power & The Passion, he joined the cast of Home and Away in 1989, playing Italian soldier Benito “Ben” Lucini. It was here that he met Dannii Minogue. The pair would marry in 1994, with Julian appearing in her video clip for hit single This Is It.
However, as Julian pursued a career in the US, landing a stand-out role on the US soap Another World, the couple would fall apart under the long-distance strain. Dannii would also later state she felt her mother-in-law disapproved of her.
Soon, Julian was getting more substantive work. He found fame in the crime series The Profiler before winning fans with his role of conflicted demon Cole Turner on the hit supernatural series Charmed.
But it was his role in Nip/Tuck as charismatic plastic surgeon Dr Christian Troy which would set his star alight. In the course of the show’s six-season run, he would be nominated for a Golden Globe along with a slew of other award nominations. The show itself would win Best Drama in 2005.
And while he continued his impressive career in the US, Julian would also return for Australian projects, although he admitted that after so many years in the US, he could find it hard to slip back into an Aussie accent.
“I feel like I’m Australian on the inside and American on the outside or something,” Julian would say of his identity. “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.”
In 2018, he shared an improvised kiss with his former sister-in-law, Kylie Minogue, in Swinging Safari, which was filmed in Queensland. The movie also starred Guy Pearce, Radha Mitchell and Asher Keddie.
And more recently, he filmed The Surfer with Nicholas Cage and Miranda Tapsell in Yallingup, Western Australia. Having recently promoted the movie at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Julian’s final role was in Netflix’s murder mystery series, The Residence. In a full circle moment, Julian was playing a fictional Australian Prime Minister.
