Rob Lowe

Robert Hepler Lowe, born March 17, 1964, is an American actor, filmmaker, and entertainment host. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack, starring in films such as The Outsiders, Class, The Hotel New Hampshire, Oxford Blues, St. Elmo's Fire, About Last Night..., and Masquerade. During the 1990s, he appeared in direct-to-video productions, television movies, and widely released comedy films, including Wayne's World, Tommy Boy, and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Lowe was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, to Barbara, a teacher, and Charles 'Chuck' Davis Lowe, a trial lawyer. As an infant, he lost complete hearing in his right ear due to undiagnosed mumps. His parents divorced when he and his younger brother Chad were young. He also has two half-brothers, Micah Dyer and Justin Lowe. Lowe spent his early childhood in Dayton, Ohio, before relocating to Malibu, California, where he attended Santa Monica High School alongside Charlie Sheen.

Lowe began acting professionally in 1976 at age 12, playing an errand boy in a summer theater production of Sherlock Holmes in Dayton. In 1979, he appeared in the television series A New Kind of Family. He received his first Golden Globe Award nomination for the 1983 television movie Thursday's Child. That same year, he earned breakthrough film roles as Sodapop Curtis in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of The Outsiders and as Skip Burroughs IV in Class. He later earned a second Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in Square Dance and performed on stage in Chekhov's The Three Sisters.

In 1999, Lowe returned to television prominence portraying Sam Seaborn on the NBC drama series The West Wing, earning nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. He subsequently starred as Robert McCallister on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters from 2006 to 2010. Lowe then portrayed Chris Traeger on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation from 2010 to 2015 and took on the lead role of Captain Owen Strand on the Fox drama series 9-1-1: Lone Star starting in 2020.

Lowe's additional achievements include an Actor Award nomination for playing John F. Kennedy in the television film Killing Kennedy and another Golden Globe nomination for his role as Dr. Jack Startz in Behind the Candelabra. In 2005, he starred in a London West End production of A Few Good Men. He has also authored two memoirs, Stories I Only Tell My Friends and Love Life.

In recent years, Lowe has expanded his career into host roles across digital and television media. He currently hosts his own podcast, titled Literally! with Rob Lowe, which launched in 2020, as well as the television game show The Floor, which premiered in 2024.