| Human Profile | |
| Name: | Robert Hepler Lowe |
| Birthday: | March 17, 1964 (age 62 years), Born in Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Height: | 5'11" (180 cm) |
| Education: | Harman Elementary School Oakwood Junior High School Santa Monica High School (Diploma) Savannah College of Art and Design (Honorary Doctorate) |
| Subscribers: | 34.3K |
| Views: | 4,385,436 |
| YouTube Revenue: | $4.4K - $21.9K |
| Videos: | 145 |
| Channel Created: | November 2024 |
Overview
Robert Hepler Lowe is an American actor, producer, and director who rose to prominence as a member of the Brat Pack and is known for his roles in television series such as The West Wing, Parks and Recreation, and 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Latest News (Apr 16, 2026): Literally! with Rob Lowe recently released a re-release of its interview with Valerie Bertinelli and is currently accepting listener submissions via its voicemail line for an upcoming Mother's Day-themed episode.
Early Life and Family
Robert Hepler Lowe was born on March 17, 1964, in Charlottesville, Virginia. His mother, Barbara Lynn Hepler, was a teacher, and his father, Charles Davis Lowe, was a trial lawyer. His parents divorced when he was young. He has a younger brother, Chad Lowe, who is also an actor. An undiagnosed case of the mumps in infancy left him completely deaf in his right ear.
Lowe was raised in Dayton, Ohio, and attended Oakwood Junior High School. He developed an interest in acting at a young age after seeing a local theater production. His first acting role came at the age of 12 in a summer theater production of Sherlock Holmes at Wright State University. Later, his mother remarried, and the family, including his mother and brother, moved to the Point Dume area of Malibu, California. In California, he attended Santa Monica High School, where his classmates included Charlie Sheen.
Career Beginnings
Lowe made his television debut at the age of 15 in the short-lived 1979 sitcom A New Kind of Family, where he played Tony Flanagan. Throughout the early 1980s, he took on various television roles. In 1983, he appeared in the television film Thursday’s Child, a role that earned him his first Golden Globe Award nomination.
His feature film debut came in 1983 with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders, where he was cast as Sodapop Curtis. This film was a significant starting point for several young actors of his generation.
Rise to Prominence
The mid-1980s marked Lowe’s rise to fame as a teen idol and a prominent member of the group of young actors dubbed the “Brat Pack”. He starred in a series of films that defined the era, including Class (1983), The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Oxford Blues (1984), St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), and About Last Night… (1986). These roles solidified his status as a leading man in Hollywood. He also received a second Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in the 1987 film Square Dance.
Towards the end of the decade, he starred in the thriller Masquerade (1988). In 1988, a sex tape scandal impacted his career for several years. During the 1990s, he appeared in supporting roles in comedies like Wayne’s World (1992) and Tommy Boy (1995), and the science fiction film Contact (1997). He also played a role in the 1994 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand.
Resurgence and Major Television Roles
A significant resurgence in Lowe’s career occurred at the turn of the millennium when he returned to television. He was cast as Sam Seaborn, the Deputy Communications Director, in the acclaimed NBC political drama The West Wing (1999–2003, 2006). His performance earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations. Lowe left the series in 2003 but returned for a few episodes in its final season.
Following The West Wing, he starred in the short-lived legal drama The Lyon’s Den (2003) and the medical drama Dr. Vegas (2004). From 2006 to 2010, he played Senator Robert McCallister on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.
In 2010, Lowe joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation as the relentlessly positive city manager Chris Traeger. Initially a guest role, he became a series regular and remained with the show until 2014, returning for the finale in 2015 and a special episode in 2020. His other notable television roles from this period include recurring parts in Californication (2011-2014) and leading roles in The Grinder (2015–2016) and Code Black (2016–2018). He currently stars as Captain Owen Strand on the Fox drama 9-1-1: Lone Star, which began in 2020.
Filmmaking, Podcasting, and Personal Life
Beyond acting, Robert Hepler Lowe has worked as a filmmaker and producer. In 1994, he produced and starred in the film Frank and Jesse. He directed the television film The Bad Seed in 2018, a remake of the 1956 movie. He has also served as a producer on several television series, including The Lyon’s Den, Dr. Vegas, Wild Bill, and Mental Samurai, a competition series he also hosts.
Lowe is also a podcaster, hosting Literally! With Rob Lowe, where he conducts wide-ranging conversations with various guests. He also co-hosted a podcast about Parks and Recreation called Parks and Recollection. He is the author of two memoirs: Stories I Only Tell My Friends (2011) and Love Life (2014).
He married makeup artist Sheryl Berkoff in 1991. They have two sons, Matthew Edward Lowe and John Owen Lowe.