Rob Lowe

The pretty boy but also the bad boy of the Brat Pack, Rob Lowe was the 80’s pin up. Although he became best known for his sex tape, Rob had a string of big hits in the 80’s including The Outsiders, Class, St Elmo’s Fire and Youngblood. He relaunched his career playing Sam in The West Wing and has gone one to make a couple of major movies as well as treading the boards on the London stage.

Rob Lowe Biography
Rob Lowe was born on 17th March 1964 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Lowe grew up in Los Angeles, going to Santa Monica High School with brother Chad and fellow Brat Pack member, Emilio Estevez.

Rob began modelling at a young age and broke into acting in his teens. He was inspired to become an actor after he saw a production of Oliver when he was ten years old.

The 1979 sitcom A New Kind of Family was Rob’s first major TV role. After a few failed pilots, Lowe landed the role of Sodapop Curtis in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders. Later in 1983, Lowe played a student whose Mother has an affair with his roommate in Class.

The Brat Pack Years
The Hotel New Hampshire and Oxford Blues followed, before arguably Lowe’s best performance of the 80’s in the Brat Pack smash St Elmo’s Fire. Lowe played Billy Hicks, a frat boy unable to keep a job and unwilling to grow up.

1986 movie Square Dance, won Lowe a Golden Globe nomination. He portrayed a mentally challenged character with great compasion and drew critical acclaim.

Rob Lowe’s career took a nose dive after being caught on camera having sex with two girls, one of which was only sixteen years old. This took place in Atlanta at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Lowe did not know the girl was underage as they had met in a bar.

A sex tape Lowe had made prior to this being released did nothing to help his public iamage. It was also a threesome. He entered rehab for sex and alcohol addiction soon after.

Rob Lowe’s Comeback
After a couple of apperances on Saturday Night Live, Lowe gave good performances in Bad Influence (1990), Waynes World (1992), The Stand (1994) and a supporting role in Contact (1997).

As with Waynes World, Lowe’s friendship with Mike Myers probably led to his role in the Austin Powers sequel. Lowe played the young Number Two.

The West Wing
Rob’s biggest role in recent times was playing Sam Seaborn in the TV series The West Wing. In the Pilot, Sam Seaborn was the main character. The strong cast including Martin Sheen came into their own and the Seaborn character had to share center stage.

Both Lowe and the the series creator Aaron Sorkin, quit the show in 2003 due to differences over Seaborn’s direction and the script in general. The West Wing lost a large number of viewers after their depature and the show changed for the worst.

Lowe had a couple of new shows, The Lyons Den and Dr Vegas but neither fared well in the ratings and were both cancelled. His most recent work includes a stint in the London play A Few Good Men alongside Surranne Jones and the 2006 movie Thank You For Smoking.

As well as currently starring in hit TV show Brothers and Sisters, Rob Lowe also had a major role in the 2009 Ricky Gervais movie The Invention of Lying.

Rob Lowe Quotes

“When I was young and crazy, I was young and crazy. It can be hard enough just to BE in your teens and 20s. Then add fame, money, access, and every single person telling you that you’re the greatest person who ever was, and it can be a recipe for disaster. Some people literally don’t survive it.”

Rob Lowe Links

Lowe-Impact– Official Rob Lowe fansite.

Rob on Wiki– A detailed bio for Rob Lowe on Wikipedia.