Rob Lowe is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, singer and director. He became famous in the eighties thanks to roles in the films "Outcasts", "Lights of St. Elmo" and "What happened last night?". Later he began to work successfully on television. Best known for his roles in the TV series West Wing, Siblings, and Parks and Recreation.
Childhood and youth
Rob Lowe was born March 17, 1964 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Full name is Robert Hapler Lowe. The actor’s father is a lawyer, his mother is a teacher. After the parents divorced, Rob and his brother Chad, also a future-winning actor, moved to Dayton, Ohio.
A few years later, Lowe and his family moved to California, where in high school he met Charlie Sheen and his brother Emilio Esteves, with whom he later worked several times.
Carier start
In 1979, Rob Lowe got one of the main roles in the sitcom "New Family Look", which was closed after the first season due to low ratings. Later, the young actor appeared in several music videos and commercials.
The first notable work in Rob Lowe's filmography was the television movie Baby Thursday. For this work, he received the first nomination for the Golden Globe Award in the category "Best Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series or Television Movie".
First successes
A breakthrough film for Rob Lowe was Francis Ford Coppola's youth drama Outlaws, which launched the career of many young actors, in particular Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise. In 1985, Lowe co-starred in the romantic drama The Lights of Saint Elmo, which became a box office hit.
A year later, the actor received a central role in the melodrama "What happened last night?". In 1987, Lowe appeared in the drama "Quadrille", for this work he received a second nomination for the Golden Globe.
Period of failure
In 1988, a record of Rob Lowe's sexual act with a sixteen-year-old girl was publicly available, and after a while, another record with another girl leaked to the press. This scandal seriously hit the reputation of the actor, who was considered one of the most promising stars in Hollywood.
A year later, Rob appeared in the opening musical number of the Academy Award ceremony, his work and the entire number in particular were criticized by critics and ordinary viewers.
At that time, not the most successful period began in Rob Lowe's film career. The actor took part in several relatively successful projects, for example, the thriller “The Influence” and the comedy “Wayne’s World,” however, most of the films with his participation were not very kind to the press and the audience. The actor was one of the favorites for the role in the film "Titanic", which then went to Billy Zane.
Return
In 1999, Rob Lowe appeared in the comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Seduced Me, which became a box office hit. In the same year, he got the main role in the political series Aaron Sorkin's "West Wing."
The project lasted seven seasons, but Rob Low left it in 2003. This was due to the fact that his character - initially the main character of the series - was pushed into the background, and the channel, moreover, refused to raise the salary of the actor. He later returned to the role in several final episodes. For this project, Low received many nominations for prestigious awards.
After leaving the West Wing, Rob Lowe received an offer to play a major role in the series Anatomy of Passion, but instead the actor joined the series Lion's Den, which was closed after the first season. The same fate befell Law's next project, entitled "Dr. Vegas."
In subsequent years, Rob did not appear in films too often, one can note his participation in the Austin Powers sequels, small roles in the comedies Top View Is Better and Here Smoke and work in several television films. The next television project of the actor was the series "Brothers and Sisters." In the first season, Rob Lowe was not a member of the main cast, but later his character became one of the main ones.
In 2011, Rob Lowe joined the main cast of the comedy series Parks and Recreation, but left the project after several seasons, returning to the final series. The actor also appeared as a guest star in several episodes of the Lascivious California series.
Recent projects
In 2015, two series with Rob Lowe appeared on the screens at once: the legal comedy Crusher and the fantastic project Me, You and the Apocalypse. Both series were closed after the first season, despite good reviews from critics.
Since 2016, Lowe has appeared in twenty-nine episodes of the medical drama "Resuscitation." He also launched a reality show that focuses on his relationship with his sons.
In 2018, the actor played a major role in the television movie "Evil Blood." This project was his directorial debut.
Personal life
The personal life of the actor has been the subject of close attention of the media from the very beginning of his career. Photos of Rob Lowe often appeared on the front pages of newspapers and on the covers of glossy magazines.
In 1983, Rob met make-up artist Cheryl Birkoff. They began dating for six years, then married in 1991. The couple has two sons, Matthew and John. In 2008, the actor became involved in a scandal when several nannies, at different times working for the Low family, filed a lawsuit, accusing the actor of emotional violence, sexual harassment and unlawful termination of the contract. Rob denied all the allegations, and the case was eventually dismissed by the court.
Rob Lowe has written two memoirs, and also launches his own line of skin care cosmetics for men. Actively involved in political life: supported Arnold Schwarzenegger in the election of California Governor.