Julian McMahon^†

He was the son of an Australian Prime Minister, which in Sydney in the '80s bought you a certain kind of education and very little else toward an acting career. McMahon started modeling at 17, worked through Australian soaps, then spent two years on Another World before a series regular role on Profiler. The real break came when he pursued Nip/Tuck in 2003, reportedly winning the role of Dr. Christian Troy with a videotaped audition. The character was a plastic surgeon who treated ethics and patients with equal disregard. That performance earned McMahon a Golden Globe nomination and made the show appointment viewing on FX.

McMahon played Doctor Doom in both Fantastic Four films while Nip/Tuck was still running, which told you something about how seriously that franchise took itself. After the show wrapped in 2010, he cycled through supporting work before landing the lead in FBI: Most Wanted on CBS. His final project was The Surfer alongside Nicolas Cage. He kept his cancer diagnosis entirely private until his death on July 2, 2025. The gap between his FX cable peak and a CBS procedural exit is about as honest a summary of his trajectory as anything.

His father, Sir William McMahon, was the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, which made Julian one of the most connected kids in Sydney and almost certainly the most overqualified person to have ever worked daytime soap Another World. Before acting, he modeled in Milan and Paris. His first marriage was to Dannii Minogue, pop star and the Minogue sister who always had to clarify she wasn't Kylie. He kept his personal life, including a decade-long third marriage to Kelly Paniagua, largely out of the tabloids.

His wife Kelly announced his death on July 4, two days after he died in Clearwater, Florida, describing it as a 'valiant effort to overcome cancer.' Nicolas Cage, who filmed The Surfer with him, called him 'the most talented of actors.' Alyssa Milano, his Charmed co-star, said she was heartbroken by the news.