Rob Lowe Popular Books

Rob Lowe Biography & Facts

Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom A New Kind of Family (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with roles in films like The Outsiders (1983), Class (1983), The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Oxford Blues (1984), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), About Last Night... (1986), and Square Dance (1987). The success of these films established him as a Hollywood star. Lowe was involved in a sex tape scandal in 1988. By the turn of the millennium, his career saw a resurgence when he ventured back into television, making his breakthrough as Sam Seaborn on the NBC political drama The West Wing (1999–2003), for which he received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. His other television roles include Robert McCallister on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters (2006–2010), Chris Traeger on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2010–2015), Ethan Willis on the CBS medical drama Code Black (2016–2018), and as Captain Owen Strand on the critically praised Fox drama 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020–present). In 2018, he made his directorial debut with the television film The Bad Seed, a remake of the 1956 film of the same name. Early life Robert Lowe was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, to Barbara (née Hepler), a teacher, and Charles 'Chuck' Davis Lowe, a trial lawyer. While still a baby, he lost complete hearing in his right ear as a result of undiagnosed mumps. His parents divorced when Lowe and his younger brother Chad were young. Lowe was baptized into the Episcopal church. He is of German, English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh ancestry. On the show Who Do You Think You Are?, Lowe found out that one of his ancestors, Christopher East, was a Hessian soldier. His ancestor was fighting under the command of Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall and was captured at the American victory at Trenton, New Jersey, on the morning of December 26, 1776. As an American POW, his ancestor was given a choice, and took the option to stay in the United States.Lowe grew up in Dayton, Ohio, in a "traditional American setting". He attended Oakwood Junior High School before moving to the Point Dume area of Malibu, California, with his mother and brother. In California, he attended Santa Monica High School, where he met Charlie Sheen. In his autobiography Stories I Only Tell My Friends, he wrote regarding Sheen, "We were both nerds [...] he wanted to be a baseball player." Career 1970s Lowe got his first professional acting role in 1976 when he was 12 and still living in Dayton. He played an errand boy in a production of Sherlock Holmes at the Wright State University summer theater. He landed the part by calling every local theater and asking each if there was a part for a child in a play. Lowe was paid $150 for the role. In 1979, Lowe landed the part of Tony Flanagan in the short-lived television comedy A New Kind of Family. 1980s One of Lowe's earliest roles came in the 1983 television film Thursday's Child, for which he received 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". His breakthrough role was his big-screen debut in 1983, when he and Emilio Estevez were cast in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders. Lowe played the role of Sodapop Curtis, the brother of the main characters Ponyboy Curtis (C. Thomas Howell) and Darrel Curtis (Patrick Swayze). In 1984, he starred opposite Jodie Foster in Tony Richardson's The Hotel New Hampshire. Lowe and Estevez reunited in St. Elmo's Fire, making them the two more prominent actors from the group known as the Brat Pack. About Last Night... followed, with Demi Moore (who had starred alongside Lowe in St. Elmo's Fire). He then received his second Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the mentally disabled Rory in Square Dance (1987). In August 1987, he performed on stage, playing Baron Tusenbach in Chekov's The Three Sisters at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. He recalled meeting Paul Newman there, and that the older actor encouraged him to work in the theatre in 1993 when filming a British TV production of the Tennessee Williams play Suddenly, Last Summer with (the now) Dame Maggie Smith and Natasha Richardson.In 1989 Lowe made his musical debut alongside actress Eileen Bowman, dressed as an unauthorized depiction of Snow White from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, singing a reworked duet of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary", with lyrics rewritten to refer to the film industry, as part of the opening ceremony for the critically derided telecast of the 61st Academy Awards produced by Allan Carr. 1990s Lowe appeared in 1994's The Stand, based on Stephen King's book of the same title.He played Sam Seaborn in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2003 (and briefly in 2006). His performance in the show garnered Lowe a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Lowe was drawn to the role because of his personal love of politics, and his longstanding friendship with Martin Sheen, who was cast as President Josiah Bartlet. When the show premiered, Lowe was considered the lead, and the pilot centered on his character. But as the cast of the show—including Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Janel Moloney, Dulé Hill, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen (who was initially scripted as a small role), and Stockard Channing (whose First Lady was initially scripted as a guest role)— were all well-known actors, eventually Lowe's character was no longer the show's main focus. Lowe and series creator Aaron Sorkin soon found themselves at odds over the network's meddling with the show, most notably the network demanding changes in Lowe's character. Eventually, Lowe left the series, not long before Sorkin and director/executive producer Thomas Schlamme, resigned over a dispute with NBC. During the final season of The West Wing, Lowe returned to his role of Sam Seaborn, appearing in two of the final four episodes. In 2011, Lowe stated on The Oprah Winfrey Show that he left the show because he did not feel he was being respected, when the other lead characters received a raise and he did not. 2000s After leaving The West Wing, Lowe was the star and executive producer of a failed NBC drama, The Lyon's Den (2003). In 2004, he tried again in a series entitled Dr. Vegas, but it also was quickly canceled.Lowe passed on the role of Derek Shepherd of Grey's Anatomy, which eventually went to Patrick Dempsey.Despite his two canceled TV series and flops like View From the Top and the made-for-TV movie Perfect Strangers during his post–West Wing run, Lowe found success in the TV miniseries genre. In 2004, Lowe starred in t.... Discover the Rob Lowe popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Rob Lowe books.

Best Seller Rob Lowe Books of 2024

  • The Atkins 100 Eating Solution synopsis, comments

    The Atkins 100 Eating Solution

    Colette Heimowitz

    From the creators of the original popular ketogenic, lowcarb diet, comes the most accessible and flexible approach to the Atkins diet ever: a simplified lower carb and sugar approa...

  • The Longest Way Home synopsis, comments

    The Longest Way Home

    Andrew McCarthy

    “A soulful and searching book. Vibrant and elegant…McCarthy’s prose shines with intelligence and intimacy. One feels pulled along…the book gaining momentum and meaning page by page...

  • Racing the Devil synopsis, comments

    Racing the Devil

    Rob Lowe

    Late one winter’s afternoon, Jake discovers an old bureau in his grandmother’s house with a strange handle in the shape of the Lincoln imp. His grandmother tells him that if you kn...

  • The New Atkins for a New You Breakfast and Brunch Dishes synopsis, comments

    The New Atkins for a New You Breakfast and Brunch Dishes

    Colette Heimowitz

    Start your day right with Atkins!The cliché that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is particularly true on the Atkins Diet. If you start the day with a lowcarb breakf...

  • Repression synopsis, comments

    Repression

    Rob Lowe

    London 1898. A woman walks the streets of Shoreditch carrying a secret that could get her killed. But how can she protect herself when she doesn't know what it is?

  • My Best Mistake synopsis, comments

    My Best Mistake

    Terry O'Reilly

    The host of CBC Radio’s Under the Influence, Terry O’Reilly, uncovers the surprising power of screwing upThe Incredible Hulk was originally supposed to be grey, but a printing glit...

  • Grace synopsis, comments

    Grace

    Thilo Wydra

    Thirty years ago, Grace Kelly was tragically killed when her vehicle tumbled forty meters from the serpentine roads of Monaco. She has since become a myth, a style icon existing be...

  • Love Life synopsis, comments

    Love Life

    Rob Lowe

    On the heels of his New York Times bestselling Stories I Only Tell My Friends, Rob Lowe is back with an entertaining collection that “invites readers into his world with easy charm...

  • Inside Out synopsis, comments

    Inside Out

    Demi Moore

    INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA Best Book of the Year: The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Daily Mail, Good Morning America, She ReadsFamed American actress D...

  • The New Atkins for a New You Cookbook synopsis, comments

    The New Atkins for a New You Cookbook

    Colette Heimowitz

    With more than two hundred new recipes to support your healthy, lowcarb lifestyle, the New York Times bestselling New Atkins for a New You Cookbook is a musthave guide for anyone w...

  • Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions synopsis, comments

    Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions

    Ed Zwick

    A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER USA TODAY BESTSELLER This heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends o...

  • Socs and Greasers synopsis, comments

    Socs and Greasers

    Rob Lowe

    A scene taken straight from Rob Lowe's New York Times bestselling memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, a wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life liv...

  • Rebound synopsis, comments

    Rebound

    Peter Park, Jesse Lopez Low, Jussi Lomakka & Jeff King

    Giancarlo Stanton and Justin Verlander's trainer (and coauthor of Foundation) shares a total body program that focuses on functional fitness and core strength for a painfree, activ...

  • Living the Dream synopsis, comments

    Living the Dream

    Chantelle Houghton

    From girl next door to the nation's sweetheart, this is the story of Chantelle's spectacular rise to fame and celebrity. Told in her own words, Chantelle takes us on what has been ...

  • Gun Hill synopsis, comments

    Gun Hill

    Rob Lowe

    It can take a single event to destroy someone's life if everything goes to plan...

  • Back to the Prairie synopsis, comments

    Back to the Prairie

    Melissa Gilbert

    The New York Times bestselling author and star of Little House on the Prairie returns with a hilarious and heartfelt memoir chronicling her journey from Hollywood to a ramshackle h...

  • The New Atkins for a New You synopsis, comments

    The New Atkins for a New You

    Dr. Eric C. Westman, Dr. Stephen D. Phinney & Dr. Jeff S. Volek

    The international bestseller that offers a low carb lifestyle that's more flexible, more effective, and easier to maintain than ever beforethis solid researchbased diet promises an...