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Rob Lowe Biography

(1964–)

Actor. Born Robert Hepler Lowe on March 17, 1964 in Charlottesville, Virginia, the son. of Chuck and Barbara Lowe, a trial lawyer and retired teacher, respectively. Younger brother Chad, also an actor, was married to actress Hilary Swank.

Lowe grew up in Southern California and attended Santa Monica High School where his classmates included actors Charlie Sheen and Sean Penn.

Lowe rose to fame on the big screen in the early '80s as a member of the Brat Pack, along with other young actors like Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson. He appeared in The Outsiders and Class in 1983, St. Elmo's Fire in 1985, and About Last Night ... in 1986. These roles made him one of the hottest teenage heartthrobs of the 1980s.

In 1988, Lowe made headlines with a scandal that involved a video camera and a female minor, and was slow to make a comeback.

Subsequent films included Wayne's World in 1992, Contact in 1997, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999 and The Specials in 2000.

Following the incident, Lowe took a couple of years off and retreated to Santa Barbara, California, where he overcame a drug and alcohol problem and concentrated on being a family man.

Lowe married makeup artist Sheryl Berkoff in 1991. They have two children, Edward Matthew born in 1993 and John Owen born in 1995.

Lowe's true comeback as an actor and star came in 1999 when he returned to the small screen to appear alongside Martin Sheen in the well-reviewed TV drama series The West Wing. Lowe was cast in the ongoing role of Sam Seaborn, Deputy Communications Director. In 2002, he announced he would leave the hit show as a result of stalled salary negotiations.

In 2003, he signed on to star in NBC's failed drama Lyon's Den, playing an up-and-coming attorney struggling to distance himself from his well-known senator father. In 2004, he tried again with Dr. Vegas but it also was quickly canceled. In 2006, he joined the cast of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters.