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 the 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. 

He was born into a life of privilege, but behind the scenes Julian McMahon’s family was fractured. Pictured with his sister Melinda, 58, in 2005

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 each other 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.’ 

Julian’s parents were Sir William McMahon, who was the 20th Prime Minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972, and socialite Lady Sonia McMahon

Sonia and her husband are pictured with their three children – Julian, Deborah and Melinda 

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. 

Sonia was every inch the devoted wife in life and she left her children in the care of a nanny in Sydney to move to Canberra to support his political career

Sonia wore a revealing white dress to dinner with the president, one which had slits up both sides and was chosen by her husband, when they visited the White House in 1971

At home, Sonia appeared to have a close relationship 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 Deborah and refused to give her any financial assistance.

Sonia had a tense relationship with her daughter Deborah. Pictured in 1992 

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.

The youngest McMahon battled with mental health issues and frequented treatment centres in Sydney to help her manage the condition. Her mother reportedly exiled her from the family

‘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 news.com.au.

Pop star Dannii Minogue also had a rocky relationship with Sonia during her short-lived marriage to Julian in the early nineties

‘(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.

Julian later 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

The couple welcomed daughter Madison, now 25, the following year, but their marriage collapsed in 2001 

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.

Meanwhile, Deborah had an unfortunate relapse and admitted herself into a Sydney clinic to seek treatment for her mental health in 2014.