Julian McMahon was one of those rare performers who made the leap from Australian soap opera to global stardom look effortless, building a career across three decades that spanned television, film and the stage. Born Julian Dana William McMahon on 27 July 1968 in Sydney, he was the only son of Sir William McMahon — the 20th Prime Minister of Australia — and Lady Sonia McMahon, a fashion icon and philanthropist. Growing up in one of the country's most prominent political households, he chose the most personal path imaginable: beginning as a teenage model in Sydney before eventually becoming one of the most recognisable Australian actors in Hollywood.

Educated at Sydney Grammar School, Julian briefly studied law at the University of Sydney and economics at the University of Wollongong before modelling took him to Milan, Paris and Los Angeles. He made his acting debut in the 1989 Australian soap The Power, The Passion and then joined the cast of Home and Away from 1990 to 1991, earning a national magazine Best Actor award. After moving to the United States he landed a role on NBC's daytime soap Another World, then built his profile on primetime drama with Profiler (1996–2000) and three seasons as Cole Turner — a half-human, half-demon sorcerer — in the supernatural drama Charmed.

His defining role arrived with Ryan Murphy's groundbreaking plastic surgery drama Nip/Tuck (FX, 2003–2010), in which he played the narcissistic, magnetic Dr. Christian Troy. The performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Television Drama Series. On the big screen he became internationally recognised as the armour-clad villain Victor Von Doom in Fantastic Four (2005) and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). Later he led CBS's crime drama FBI: Most Wanted for three seasons and appeared in Nicolas Cage's The Surfer (2024). His final screen role — fittingly, playing the Australian Prime Minister in Netflix's The Residence — was released in 2025.

Julian was married three times: to singer Dannii Minogue (1994–1995), to actress Brooke Burns (1999–2001), with whom he had a daughter, Madison, and from 2014 to his death to Kelly Paniagua, who confirmed his passing. He had fought cancer privately and with characteristic courage. He died on 2 July 2025 in Clearwater, Florida, aged 56. His wife's statement said simply: "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."