Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe: biography

Rob Lowe made his acting debut as a teenager and won many girls’ hearts acting in teen films (Outsiders, Class, Youngblood) thanks to his attractive appearance. When he grew up, Rob Lowe became a member of the Brat Pack, the group of prominent actors, alongside Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, and others. Lowe starred in such films as Wayne's World (1992), Contact (1997), Atomic Train (1999). Viewers know him as the hero of the TV series The West Wing, which tells about the everyday life of the White House.

Childhood and youth

Robert Hepler Lowe was born on March 17, 1964, in Charlottesville, Virginia. His father, Charles Davis Lowe, was a lawyer. Mother Barbara Lynn was a schoolteacher. The couple lived together for a while and divorced after the birth of the second son, Chad, who, by the way, also became an actor.

Many viewers mistakenly believe that the brothers are the relatives of Jude Law. Firstly, Jude is a British actor, and secondly, their names are spelled differently.

Rob and Chad spent their childhood in Dayton, Ohio. Rob was an infirm child because in infancy he suffered through a virus and there is a significant hearing loss in his right ear.

At first, the guys attended Oakwood Junior High School in Dayton, and then the family moved to California. Rob began to study at Santa Monica High School together with future stars such as Sean Penn, Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr., and others.

Little Robert became interested in acting after watching the play Oliver!. Then the boy was determined to become an actor, and at the age of 8, he began attending acting classes. When Rob Lowe completed his studies, the teenager got the first roles on television.

Movies

Rob made his acting debut playing a bit part in the 1979 sitcom A New Kind of Family. The young man rose to prominence after the role of Sam Alden in the TV movie Thursday's Child (1983). Sam is a successful baseball player who suddenly finds out that he has life-threatening heart disease, and this moment changes his life. For this work, the young actor was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

After the success of this film, Lowe got the first leading role. Rob Lowe joined the outstanding cast, alongside Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, and Emilio Estevez, in the drama The Outsiders about the opposition of teenagers from poor and wealthy families.

In the 80s, the actor portrayed many young, handsome guys in teen and sports dramas (Class, St. Elmo's Fire, Youngblood, About Last Night) that established him as a Hollywood star. Rob's partners were the most beautiful actresses of that period: Demi Moore, Jodie Foster, Jacqueline Bisset, Andie MacDowell, etc.

The actor received the second Golden Globe nomination for the role in Daniel Petrie’s film Square Dance, in which he played the man with an intellectual disability, Rory Torrance, falling in love with 13-year-old Gemma (Winona Ryder).

In the 90s, famous Robe got a lot of new roles. Fans were surprised to see their favorite actor in eccentric comedy movies. So, Lowe starred with outstanding comedian Mike Myers in the comedies about Austin Powers’s adventures (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) and in the film Wayne's World (1991).

In the late 90s, Lowe returned to more serious movie genres. The major works of this period are the spy thriller Dead Silent and Robert Zemeckis’s sci-fi drama Contact. The last film tells about the first contact of American scientists with aliens. Rob played congressman Richard Rank. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award and showed Lowe’s brilliant acting.

Rob Lowe achieved his peak of popularity playing a role in the TV series The West Wing (1999), showing the life of ordinary people involved in the work of the administration of the American president (Martin Sheen). IMDb users rated highly the series about the staff of the White House who had their problems, hopes, and dreams.

Rob Lowe played Sam Seaborn, the Deputy Communications Director, and was twice nominated for the Golden Globe Award, as well as for the prestigious Primetime Emmy Award. The actor appeared in the series for the first four seasons, after which he moved to another film set, becoming the title character of the series Salem's Lot (2004), based on the novel by Stephen King. Rob made his horror movie debut, playing writer Ben Mears, who fought against vampires in the small town of Salem.

In 2006, the actor appeared in the series Brothers & Sisters which centered on the Walker family and their five children. The actor played Senator Robert McCallister, a husband of one of the daughters, Kitty Walker (Calista Flockhart). Lowe's participation had a high impact on project success, but at the end of the fourth season, he did not almost appear on the screen. So, Rob did not play in the fifth season, which premiered in 2010.

In 2011, the movie star published a memoir titled Stories I Only Tell My Friends, which told not only about the glorious moments of his life but also his alcohol and drug addiction. At the same time, Lowe starred in the TV series Parks and Recreation and Californication, in which the actor got small but very bright roles.

In 2013, Lowe’s filmography included the most significant movie Behind the Candelabra directed by Steven Soderbergh. It is a biographical drama film about an American singer and showman, Liberace, (Michael Douglas), who was very popular in the 1950s and 1970s.

The plot is based on the showman's personal life, his relationship with young lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon). Rob Lowe played Dr. Jack Startz who performed plastic surgery and transformed the faces of the title characters. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, 11 Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite Award and some prestigious awards.

In 2015-2016, Rob played in the sitcom The Grinder, portraying a television actor, Dean Sanderson, who returned to his hometown and tried to work in a law office. In December 2015, Rob Lowe was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Handsome Lowe, who was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2000, is known for his love affairs. In his youth, he had a relationship with actress Melissa Gilbert, dated Nastassja Kinski and paid court to Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

In 1988, the actor was involved in a sex scandal over a videotape of him having sex with partners (one of them turned out to be 16 years old), which was leaked onto the Internet. It took a lot of patience and courage for the actor to rehabilitate his reputation.

In July 1991, the ladies' man finally became a family guy and married Sheryl Berkoff, a makeup artist. Lowe's wife gave birth to two sons: Matthew Edward (1993) and John Owen (1995).

Rob Lowe now

In 2018, the actor appeared in several projects: the crime drama The Bad Seed and the comedy Super Troopers 2.

In October 2018, it transpired that Rob Lowe was filming in the new project Wild Bill for Britain's ITV. The series is planned to premiere in 2019. Another new work of the star is the movie Christmas in the Wild.

The man is active on social media. His Instagram page is open and always full of new photos.

Rob Lowe has an estimated net worth of $60 million.

Filmography

• 1983 – Thursday's Child
• 1983 – The Outsiders
• 1986 – Youngblood
• 1988 – Illegally Yours
• 1992 – Wayne's World
• 1997 – Contact
• 1999 – Dead Silent
• 1999 – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
• 1999 – The West Wing
• 2004 – Salem's Lot
• 2006 – Brothers & Sisters
• 2011 – Parks and Recreation
• 2013 – Behind the Candelabra
• 2015 – The Grinder
• 2018 – The Bad Seed