Latest news with #WilliamMcMahon
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside the mysterious pauper's funeral for the son of a prime minister - as bizarre new details emerge about Julian McMahon's tragic death
Julian McMahon grew up privileged in one of Australia's most exclusive suburbs, befitting the high society family he was born into - making his pauper-like funeral all the more shocking. Daily Mail Australia can reveal new details that indicate the respected actor appears to have had a lonely send-off at a nondescript crematorium on an industrial estate on the US East Coast. The actor, who died of cancer aged 56 in Florida, on July 2, was the son of Prime Minister Sir William McMahon and Sydney society matriarch Lady Sonia McMahon. Julian was raised in a palatial Bellevue Hill mansion, and even when he decamped to the United States to chase his acting dream, he never wanted for money, living in several multi-million-dollar homes in California to rival the grandeur of his upbringing. However, his death certificate painted a terribly sad picture for a man who was a Sydney Grammar boy and one of Australia's finest acting exports. Julian, who starred on Nip/Tuck and Charmed, died at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, a Floridian city overrun with Scientologists. Julian's body was handled by Eternal Cremations - a nondescript, family-run funeral home in the nearby town of Dunedin. The small crematorium sits on a busy main road, sandwiched between a strip mall and a petrol station. After starring in Home and Away, he became one of Australia's acting exports to the US The actor's death certificate, obtained by sheds more light on the mystery A spokesperson for Eternal Cremations said it did not handle funeral arrangements for Julian, and even claimed there was no funeral at all. Instead, Julian's remains were subsequently passed to Palm State Crematory in Clearwater - a business which does not appear to have a website - set in an industrial park on the outskirts of town. Phone calls to the crematorium went unanswered, and it is not known if Julian's third wife Kelly, an American former model, was in attendance, nor where his ashes are. It is not known if Julian's 25-year-old daughter Madison - whom he shares with Baywatch actress Brooke Burns - attended his cremation. Julian's successful 36-year career in his native country and in the United States from the early 1990s makes the lack of entertainment industry peers paying their respects even more puzzling. While his father Sir William and mother Sonia have long passed away, his sisters Melinda, 58, and Debbie, 52, were reported to be devastated by his death. The latest revelations have done little to quell speculation about why he was in Clearwater, including online rumours he may have been a Scientologist. A search of US public records indicated he and Kelly sold an idyllic avocado farm in Ventura, California, in 2023. The death certificate listed a business building in Los Angeles' Encino neighbourhood as both Julian and Kelly's address. His lonely death at a nondescript Clearwater hospital, followed by a cremation at a rundown industrial estate, could not stand in starker contrast to his early life in Sydney. Julian, Melinda and Debbie were raised in a stunning mansion on Drumalbyn Road, Bellevue Hill, with views across Sydney Harbour. Lady McMahon bought it for $123,000 in 1968 - the year Julian, her eldest, was born. After her 2010 death, her estate sold the property in 2011 for $9 million. Before her death, Lady McMahon lived at a similarly stylish home on Victoria Road. She was left a widow in 1988, when her husband, whom she married in 1965 (when she was 33 and he was 57), died in his sleep at 80. According to public documents, the McMahon family still makes a significant mark on Bellevue Hill. Their parents' home was ideal for entertaining, and featured harbour views Melinda and Debbie reside there, and live extremely quiet lives. Insiders say Melinda has not been present at her stunning townhome for several weeks, with one insider speculating she may have travelled to Florida to be by her brother's side in his final days. Debbie, who lives in an apartment building nearby, did not answer the door when a reporter visited on Thursday. It is understood that despite their late parents' colourful social lives, the sisters 'keep their circle extremely tight'. A cache of public documents about Julian's life in the United States since the 1990s, reviewed by Daily Mail Australia, provides little insight into why he ultimately ended up in Clearwater. Records showed he gained his social security identification in New York, but by 1997 he began living in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. His home, directly beneath the Hollywood Sign, was sold in 2015 for $3.3 million. He also owned a home in Malibu, which he shared with Kelly, and sold in 2017 for $5.41 million. It appeared the couple then moved to their ranch in the farming community of Somis, Ventura County. The hacienda-style home featured 1.8 hectares of Hass avocado trees and 4.4 acres of lemons. The 2,700-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom residence was listed for sale by the couple in 2016 before being removed from the market in 2017. It was relisted on July 19, 2023 - curiously, the advertisement suggested it could be purchased fully furnished - and sold on October 5, 2023. Since 2023, the McMahons had no further listed residences, save for the business address linked to an accountant specialising in celebrity finances that appeared on his death certificate. However, the couple then seemingly headed to Florida. Julian's daughter Madison - from his previous marriage to American actress Brooke Burns - is listed at an address in Charleston, South Carolina, where it is thought she attended university. However, Madison teaches yoga classes in Miami. Offering a further clue, of the 20 accounts Julian followed on Instagram, one was Mari's Kitchen Italian Market - a restaurant in Hollywood, Florida, just north of Miami. A spokesperson for the restaurant revealed: 'Yes, he is very missed here. One of our good friends'. They would not confirm if Julian had lived in the area. When Kelly, 47, revealed her husband had died in Clearwater after 'a valiant effort to overcome cancer', it immediately prompted speculation online as to whether he was a Scientologist. 'I live in Clearwater... close to a house [Scientologist] John Travolta owns, because we're about a mile from the Scientology centre in downtown Clearwater,' one local wrote on Instagram. 'I was wondering if Julian McMahon was a Scientologist since [Kelly's statement] said he died in Clearwater, because why else would he live the last few months of his life there? The only celebrities that do are usually Scientologists. Surprised, that's for certain!' Another person posted on X: 'Why was Julian McMahon in Clearwater when he died? Like, that's Scientology city.' Clearwater, which has a population of 116,000, is notorious for being overrun by the Church of Scientology.
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
He was born into a life of privilege, but behind the scenes Julian McMahon's family was fractured after his socialite mother left him with the nanny and cut off ties with his sister
Julian McMahon was born into a life of privilege before going on to become a huge Hollywood star. The Nip/Tuck actor, who tragically died last week following a battle with cancer, was the son of a former Australian prime minister, Sir William McMahon, and heiress, socialite and fashion icon, Sonia Hopkins. Doors opened for tall, dark and handsome Julian as soon as he finished school at prestigious Sydney Grammar. But what many don't know is how fractured the McMahon family was behind the scenes. Sonia was left a widow in 1988, when her husband, who she married in 1965 when she was 33 and he was 57, died in his sleep at the age of 80. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Once considered the queen bee of the socialite scene, Sonia was every inch the devoted wife. So much so, she left her children in the care of a nanny in Sydney to move to Canberra to support her husband's political career. Sonia and William lived at The Lodge from March 1971 to December 1972 while he served as prime minister. The pair made quite the splash during his time in the top job, including a shock display at the White House in the US while Richard Nixon was president in 1971. Sonia wore a revealing white dress to dinner with the president, one which had slits up both sides and was chosen by her husband. Meanwhile, Melinda, Julian, and Deborah, were left behind in the Bellevue Hill family home, with only themselves and a nanny as company. 'It was a hard decision. I loved being with Bill and I loved being a mum,' Sonia told her biographer in an interview at the time. 'But I knew I had to make a decision, and I chose to be with my husband.' Following the death of William, Sonia inherited his estate and continued her philanthropic activities, becoming a board member of several charities. But at home, her relationship with her children appeared to worsen. Sonia was a fixture in the early '90s tabloids and she enjoyed all the benefits of the social scene with her glamorous private schoolgirl posse. She was often spotted with her Melbourne-based friend, Lady Susan Renouf, another wife of a Liberal politician, who was married to Sir Frank Renouf from 1985 to 1989. The pair were common faces on the social circuit, and even made the news in 1995, when Susan caused a three-car hit-and-run accident in Double Bay. She was charged with failing to stop and give particulars after the accident and fined $200, despite pleading guilty to negligent driving. Sonia was questioned by reporters at the time, as the pair had enjoyed a five-hour brunch with their socialite friends on the day of the accident. She denied having any knowledge of the accident and also denied going to brunch with Susan, though confessed they met for dinner that same day. At home, Sonia appeared to have a close relationship with with Julian, often having him at her side during events, but her daughters were another matter. She reportedly had a tense relationship with Deborah over the years. Little is known about the inner workings of her relationship with her eldest daughter, but Deborah was a different story. The youngest McMahon had mental health issues and frequented treatment centres in Sydney to help manage her condition. She left the city for Salamander Bay on the NSW north coast at age 24, putting aside her dreams of becoming an actor like her older brother. Sonia reportedly exiled her from the family during this time as Deborah sought treatment for stress. Family sources claimed Deborah was devastated by the breakdown of her relationship with her mother, especially since the pair had once been so close. It was said Sonia turned her back on Deboarh and refused to give her any financial assistance. Deborah took Sonia to the Supreme Court in 2000 to effect the sale of her mother's $6million Bellevue Hill mansion. She sought 10 per cent of the property's value or $600,000—a claim Sonia contested and later settled out of court. As for Julian, while he appeared to have a relatively happy relationship with his mother, Sonia reportedly made things difficult when it came to his love life. Pop star Dannii Minogue had a rocky relationship with Sonia during her short-lived marriage to Julian in the early nineties. The pair, who met on the set of the hit soap Home and Away in the late '80s, married in 1994 during what was dubbed a 'fairytale' showbiz wedding. But behind the scenes, things were far from picture-perfect. Their marriage lasted just 18 months, with Dannii later revealing in an interview that Julian's mother never approved of their union. 'There was no relationship, she wouldn't speak to me, I wasn't allowed to be near her in the house,' Dannii told No Filter at the time. 'We just had no idea how to handle it. We were just trying to'. Dannii said the romance was complicated by financial issues. 'She [Sonia] didn't support her son, I did. I paid for everything and I worked every day to earn that money to pay for everything,' the actress said. The singer also claimed the constant travel between the UK and the US to keep their relationship alive left her in debt. 'I not only ran out of money, I was in debt. It was a huge struggle emotionally, physically, mentally, financially,' Dannii explained. She eventually decided to strip naked for Playboy to pay off her crippling debts and admitted her parents didn't want her to pose for the magazine. 'My parents didn't want me to do it. My dad was saying, "Doing this is forever. You can never, ever change it,"' she told '(Her sister) Kylie knew why I was doing it. I could have asked her for the money, but it wasn't in my nature. 'I never wanted to admit the trouble I was in. I should have been looking at my finances.' Dannii also discussed her difficult relationship with her former mother-in-law in a candid interview on Anh's Brush with Fame in 2019. 'She (Sonia) would not let me go to the family house. Sometimes Julian had to go and collect something and I was waiting in the car out the front,' she said. 'It was as if I'd done something wrong to the family, but I hadn't done anything wrong.' Dannii also revealed how Sonia had initially refused to show up on her wedding day. 'So she did end up coming and was causing a scene… it wasn't the greatest… it was hard. I just tried to stay away from it, I just wanted to enjoy the day,' she said. After his short-lived marriage to Dannii, Julian tied the knot with American actress Brooke Burns, best known for her role in Baywatch, in 1999. The couple welcomed daughter Madison, now 25, the following year, but their marriage collapsed in 2001. He began dating author and model Kelly Paniagua in 2003, and after more than a decade together, the pair married in a quiet ceremony at Lake Tahoe in 2014. According to reports at the time, the actor popped the question during a romantic trip to Melbourne in late 2013. Unlike his past marriages, Julian and Kelly kept their love life intensely private, rarely appearing together at events or discussing their relationship in interviews. It was almost ten years before Sonia reconciled with her daughters and son, with the family reuniting at her hospital in 2009 as she underwent cancer treatment. Sonia died at the age of 77 in April 2010, with Melinda and Deborah by her side, along with Julian and Kelly, who had flown in from Los Angeles in March. The matriarch left her children a $30 million estate which included two Bellevue Hill homes, a Palm Beach retreat, Bathurst rural property, and an eastern suburbs unit. After her death, Melinda tried to fill her mother's shoes by carrying on her fundraising work and appearing at charity events in Sonia's name. She most recently made headlines in 2020 when she listed her own Bellevue home for a price guide of north of $5.5million after purchasing it for $2.15million in 2013. Julian returned to Hollywood with Kelly, and was best known for his roles on Charmed, Nip/Tuck, and FBI: Most Wanted before his death.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Charmed' actor Julian McMahon's official cause of death revealed
Julian McMahon's official cause of death has been revealed. The Australian-American actor, beloved for his roles on the series Nip/Tuck and Charmed, died of lung metastasis as a result of head and neck metastatic cancer. McMahon died at the age of 56 on July 2 in Clearwater, Fla., with the manner of death ruled as natural, according to a cremation approval summary report from the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office reviewed by Entertainment Weekly. PEOPLE was the first to report his cause of death. McMahon's wife of over a decade, Kelly McMahon, announced his death last week, revealing that the star had been privately and "valiantly" battling cancer. "Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans," she said. "His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible … we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy to continue to find joy in life." The son of former Australia Prime Minister William McMahon, McMahon began his career as a model before he transitioned to acting, appearing in soap operas The Power, Passion, Home and Away, and Another World. He made his feature film debut in 1993's Wet and Wild Summer and would go on to appear in projects like 2005's Fantastic Four and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, as well as Paranoia and McMahon is best known for his roles as demon Cole Turner on the witchy series Charmed and plastic surgeon Christian Troy on the medical drama Nip/Tuck. His Charmed costars Holly Marie Combs, Rose McGowan, and Alyssa Milano have since paid tribute to him following his death, remembering him as a "force of brilliance, wild talent, and humor." His Nip/Tuck costar Dylan Walsh also shared a tribute to him in a letter addressed to McMahon: "I know you like to flout the boundaries, but this time you've gone too far. Let's meet at the Biltmore, have a martini, and we'll talk this through. We'll laugh hard, the valet will bring up your Hummer, and right behind my hatchback with car seats and bird s--- on the window — we've laughed at this too many times. Now it's just us. You'll kiss me on the cheek and say, 'Bye, Dyl.'" McMahon is survived by his wife, Kelly, and daughter, Madison. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
News.com.au
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Julian McMahon's family break silence days after actor's death
Julian McMahon's family have broken their silence days after the Aussie actor passed away aged 56. In a short but heartwarming message shared on the actor's official Instagram account, his family thanked supporters for their kind words during this difficult time. 'Julian loved @vanmorrisonofficial,' they captioned the post alongside a photo of the star smiling. 'For all of those who loved Julian, thank you.' McMahon left behind his wife Kelly Paniagua and daughter Madison, 25, who he shared with ex-wife, actress Brooke Burns. The actor – who was the son of former Australian Prime Minister William McMahon and his wife Lady Sonia McMahon – is also survived by siblings Melinda and Debbie. It was the actor's wife Kelly who announced his sad passing via a statement to Deadline over the weekend. '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,' she wrote. '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.' McMahon was best known his role as Dr Christian Troy on the US series Nip/Tuck. He starred on the show for six seasons from 2003 to 2007, during which her earned a Golden Globes nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama at the 2005 ceremony. He also starred on the hit series Profiler and Charmed, with his co-stars among the first to pay tribute following news of his death. 'One of a kind is an understatement,' Holly Marie Combs, who played Piper Halliwell on the show, captioned her Instagram video montage. 'Your unyielding zest for life and crazy making sense of humour will be sorely missed. The joy and laughter you were the direct cause of will always be remembered.' 'I hope you find our lady friend and dance in those rose petals,' she added, referring to Charmed star Shannen Doherty, who passed away on July 13, 2024. Alyssa Milano also remembered her former co-star in an emotional post on Instagram. 'I'm heartbroken. Julian McMahon was magic. That smile. That laugh. That talent. That presence. He walked into a room and lit it up – not just with charisma, but with kindness,' she began in part in a lengthy statement. 'We spent years together on Charmed – years of scenes, stories, and so many in-between moments. He made me feel safe as an actor. Seen as a woman. He challenged me, teased me, supported me … Julian was more than my TV husband. He was a dear friend.'
News.com.au
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Dannii Minogue gave a rare interview about marriage to Julian McMahon weeks before his death
While Dannii Minogue has yet to speak out on the death of her ex-husband Julian McMahon, she did give an insight into their brief marriage just one month before his death. The actress and singer, 53, rarely speaks publicly about her time with the Aussie actor, but just five weeks before he lost his battle to cancer, she gave a candid interview about their union back in the 90s. Speaking to How To Fail podcast with Elizabeth Day on May 28, Minogue discussed the factors that contributed to their divorce in 1995 after just one year of marriage. 'Now I don't think [the marriage] was a failure, but at the time that it ended, my world was very dark and bleak,' Minogue, who was just 23 at the time, reflected on the podcast episode. 'Love sweeps you off your feet and it is an incredible feeling, and I really got swept away and did not see what it actually was.' Minogue says her parents have had a long, happy marriage and that's what she wanted as well, but it wasn't meant to be. 'He was hunky and charming and always a big energy walking into a room and made me feel fantastic, until it didn't,' she said of her ex-husband, who she met on the set of Home And Away in 1991. When the host pointed out that McMahon came from an 'incredibly well connected' political family in Australia – his dad was former Prime Minister William McMahon and his mum way socialite and philanthropist Lady Sonia McMahon – Minogue said that this reality didn't help matters in their marriage. 'His father was a prime minister, but I knew him as an actor on Home and Away,' she said. 'I didn't meet him in that world. I wasn't exposed to that world – I'm still not. It's not my place. I had no intention of hanging out in that world.' 'His mother was very weary of me. She thought that I was wanting to be part of that world [and] that I was going to take, take, take from them. 'It was the furthest thing from the truth and not what I wanted at all. So she made it very clear that I was not to be around and she didn't want me a part of anything. Yet Julian wanted me to be his wife.' Another contributing factor to their split were their careers, she said. 'Julian wanted to go to America and work,' she shared. 'My work was in London and so I helped him set up in New York – he got on a soap opera [ Another World ] there and I committed to travelling back and forth because we were married.' But she said that each time she made the trip across the pond, there was 'just something not right'. 'Things I saw in the apartment, there were people around that I didn't know, and he was just very, very distant to the point that he called it off,' she said. Both went on to have successful careers in their chosen fields. Minogue released five studio albums and starred in numerous TV projects, including being a judge o n Australia's Got Talent, The X Factor Australia and The Masked Singer Australia. As for McMahon, he scored recurring roles on the hit series Profiler, Charmed, and, his most famous role yet, Nip/Tuck, which ran for six seasons in the US. While Minogue never remarried, McMahon was married to former Baywatch star Brooke Burns from 1999 to 2001, before marrying author Kelly Paniagua in 2014. He has one child from his relationship with Brooke, a 25-year-old daughter named Madison, and Minogue has a 15-year-old son, Ethan, with her ex-partner, British model Kris Smith.
