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Men's Journal

Julian McMahon Cause of Death: How did the Actor Die?

Adam Kelnhofer
2 min read
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Actor Julian McMahon's cause of death was cancer. He died July 2 in Clearwater, Florida after a private battle with cancer, according to his wife, Kelly Paniagua.

Paniagua, McMahon's third wife and also an actor, said her husband died peacefully at age 56 in a statement provided to Good Morning America.

"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," Paniagua said.

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McMahon, originally from Sydney, Australia, was most famous for his roles as Dr. Christian Troy in the medial drama Nip/Tuck, Cole Turner in supernatural drama Charmed, Dr. Doom in the superhero series Fantastic Four and Jess LaCroix in CBS' crime drama FBI: Most Wanted.

Julian McMahon attends the "The Surfer" Red Carpet at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 17, 2024 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)<p><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2153455297" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Stephane Cardinale - Corbis&sol;Getty Images;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Stephane Cardinale - Corbis&sol;Getty Images</a></p>
Julian McMahon attends the "The Surfer" Red Carpet at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 17, 2024 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Getty Images

He spent roughly six decades in his acting career, with one of his final projects in 2025 being Netflix's The Surfer.

Paniagua did not specify what type of cancer McMahon died from and requested she and their family be allowed to grieve in privacy, though she encouraged other to find ways to celebrate through McMahon's work.

The American Cancer Society in January 2025 reported cancer deaths had declined by 34 percent from 1991 to 2022 overall, but also noted diagnoses among six of the 10 most common cancers have increased. The six cancers are: breast, prostate, endometrial, pancreatic, kidney and melanoma.

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“Continued reductions in cancer mortality because of drops in smoking, better treatment, and earlier detection is certainly great news,”  lead author of the report Rebecca Siegel said. “However, this progress is tempered by rising incidence in young and middle-aged women, who are often the family caregivers, and a shifting cancer burden from men to women, harkening back to the early 1900s when cancer was more common in women.”

Actors Joe Marinelli, 68, Valerie Mahaffey, 71, Jay North, 73, Michael Haley, 67, Val Kilmer, 65, Biff Wiff, 76, also died in 2025 after battles with cancer, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Julian McMahon Cause of Death: How did the Actor Die? first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 5, 2025

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