On Wednesday, July 2, Australian actor Julian McMahon passed away in Clearwater, Florida. McMahon, who was well recognized for playing the supervillain Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four, had a cancer diagnosis prior to his death, which wasn't shared publicly, The Guardian reports.
McMahon's wife, Kelly Paniagua, shared the news of the 59-year-old's death in a statement to Deadline on Friday (July 6), writing:
"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."
Further talking about the late actor's love for his family, friends, work, and fans, Paniagua added:
"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."
Julian married Kelly Paniagua in 2014. According to News X, Paniagua was the actor's third wife.
His first marriage was with singer-actress Dannii Minogue in 1994. The couple met while working on Home and Away in 1991, and married three years later. However, the marriage ended after a year and a half.
In 1999, Julian married Brooke Burns - the Baywatch star - welcoming a daughter with her the following year. The couple got divorced in 2001.
Besides Fantastic Four, Julian McMahon was also known for his TV roles in FBI: Most Wanted, Nip/Tuck, and Charmed.
Julian McMahon was the son of the former Australian Prime Minister, Billy McMahon
Julian McMahon was born to Billy McMahon, the former Australian Prime Minister, in 1968. The Sydney native first began his career in modeling in the 1980s, before pivoting to acting.
In 1990, McMahon landed a gig in an Australian soap opera, Home and Away, on which he appeared for 150 episodes. Two years later, Julian worked in his debut film, Wet and Wild Summer!.
Soon after the movie's release, Julian moved to the US, where he worked in several TV shows, such as Profiler, Another World, and Will & Grace.
In 2000, McMahon played a half-demon, half-human assassin, Cole Turner, in a supernatural series called Charmed, which helped him gain wider recognition.
Three years later, the actor appeared as Dr. Christian Troy in Nip/Tuck, winning him his first Golden Globe nomination. The show ran for six series before concluding in 2010.
Between 2005 and 2007, McMahon assumed the character of one of Marvel's biggest supervillains, Doctor Doom, in multiple Fantastic Four movies. He also voiced the character in its video game.
After Doctor Doom, Julian McMahon portrayed special agent Jess LaCroix in FBI: Most Wanted for three seasons before exiting the show.
Dick Wolf, who produced FBI: Most Wanted, said in a statement that McMahon's death was a "shocking news" on Friday.
More recently, Julian McMahon appeared in Netflix's comedy-mystery series, The Residence, where he plays the Australian prime minister, Stephen Roos.