Rob Lowe

Robert Hepler Lowe was born on March 17, 1964, in Charlottesville, Virginia, to Barbara Hepler, a teacher, and Charles Davis Lowe, a trial lawyer. As an infant, he lost hearing in his right ear due to undiagnosed mumps. His parents divorced when he and his younger brother Chad were young, and he was baptized in the Episcopal Church. He is of German, English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry. Through the television program Who Do You Think You Are?, Lowe learned that an ancestor named Christopher East served as a Hessian soldier under Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall during the American War of Independence and was captured at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, ultimately choosing to remain in the United States. He has two half brothers from his parents' subsequent marriages: producer Micah Dyer on his mother's side and Justin Lowe on his father's side.

Lowe grew up in Dayton, Ohio, attending Oakwood Junior High School before relocating with his mother and brother to the Point Dume area of Malibu, California. He attended Santa Monica High School, where he met Charlie Sheen. His first professional acting role came in 1976, at age twelve, when he was still living in Dayton and was cast as an errand boy in a production of Sherlock Holmes at Wright State University's summer theater, for which he was paid $150. In 1979, he appeared in the short-lived television comedy A New Kind of Family, playing Tony Flanagan.

His film career gained momentum in 1983 with two notable roles: Sodapop Curtis in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders, alongside Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, and others, and Skip Burroughs IV in the coming-of-age comedy Class with Andrew McCarthy and Jacqueline Bisset. The 1983 television film Thursday's Child earned him his first Golden Globe Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film. He also appeared in the music video for the Go-Go's song "Turn to You." In 1984, he starred opposite Jodie Foster in The Hotel New Hampshire and opposite Ally Sheedy and Amanda Pays in Oxford Blues. Lowe and Estevez reunited in St. Elmo's Fire in 1985, cementing both actors' association with the group of young performers known as the Brat Pack. About Last Night... followed in 1986, co-starring Demi Moore. His role as the mentally disabled Rory in Square Dance (1987) earned him a second Golden Globe nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. He starred in the thriller Masquerade in 1988.

Lowe's stage work has included appearances at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where in August 1987 he played Baron Tusenbach in Chekhov's The Three Sisters. It was at Williamstown that he encountered Paul Newman, who encouraged him to continue working in theater, as Lowe later recalled during the filming of the Tennessee Williams television production Suddenly, Last Summer in 1993, which also starred Maggie Smith and Natasha Richardson. In 1989, Lowe made his musical debut at the 61st Academy Awards ceremony, singing a reworked version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" alongside actress Eileen Bowman, who portrayed an unauthorized depiction of Snow White. That same year, a sex tape scandal emerged that affected his career for a number of years.

Lowe made his Broadway debut in 1992, appearing in A Little Hotel on the Side. That same year he appeared in the film Wayne's World. His film work through the 1990s also included Tommy Boy (1995), Contact (1997), and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), in which he played Young Number Two, a role he reprised in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002).

His career experienced a significant resurgence beginning in 1999 when he was cast as Sam Seaborn in the NBC political drama The West Wing. The pilot episode centered on his character, and Lowe was initially considered the lead of the series. As cast members including Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen, Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, John Spencer, and Janel Moloney grew more prominent, the show's focus shifted. Lowe and series creator Aaron Sorkin came into conflict over network interference with his character, and Lowe eventually departed the series. He remained with The West Wing from 1999 to 2003, returning briefly in 2006 for two of the final four episodes of the show's last season. In 2011, he stated on The Oprah Winfrey Show that he left because he was not given a raise when other lead cast members received one. His performance as Seaborn earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Drama Series.

Following his departure from The West Wing, Lowe starred in and executive produced the NBC drama The Lyon's Den in 2003, which was canceled after one season. He then starred in Dr. Vegas in 2004, which was also quickly canceled; he had passed on the role of Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy, which went to Patrick Dempsey, in order to do that series. He went on to play Robert McCallister in the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters from 2006 to 2010, and Chris Traeger in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation from 2010 to 2015. In 2018, he made his directorial debut with the television film The Bad Seed, a remake of the 1956 film of the same name. He has also portrayed Captain Owen Strand in the Fox drama 9-1-1: Lone Star, which ran from 2020 to 2025.