Rob Lowe was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, and raised in Dayton, Ohio, where he began his acting career in local television and theater at the age of eight. After his family relocated to Los Angeles, he began his national acting career starring in the ABC television series “A New Kind of Family”.

In January 2012, Lowe was seen in Lifetime’s “Drew Peterson: Untouchable”portraying the title character accused of killing his wife. The movie shattered rating records. Additionally, Lowe is the lead in the political thriller “Knife Fight”, set for release this year.

In spring of 2011 Lowe added author to his credits with the release of his memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. Complete with adolescent anecdotes, he shares astoundingly personal excerpts as he recalls his encounters, experiences and the audition that changed his life forever. The book was an instant hit, spending consecutive weeks in the top four of The New York Times best sellers, and made it onto GQ’s “Best of 2011” book list. Lowe is currently at work on his follow up, Love Life for a 2013 release from Simon and Schuster.

In May 2010, Lowe joined the cast of the NBC comedy “Parks and Recreation”, where he plays “Chris Traeger,” an auditor who seeks to dig Pawnee, Indiana’s Department of Parks and Recreation, out of its financial abyss. His recent television work also included a three-episode appearance on Showtime’s “Californication”, in which Lowe played unpredictable, megawatt movie star “Eddie Nero.”

Prior to “Parks and Recreation”, Lowe starred in the ABC drama “Brothers & Sisters” from 2007–2010. In 2009, he starred opposite Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner and Tina Fey in the feature film “The Invention of Lying.”

In 2006, Lowe starred in the hit satire “Thank You for Smoking”, garnering him rave reviews. That same year, he filmed the psychological drama “Stir of Echoes: The Dead Speak” and starred in the TNT movie “A Perfect Day.”

Additionally, for four seasons (from 1999–2003) Lowe starred as “Sam Seaborn” on the hit NBC drama “The West Wing.” During that course of time, the show won a record four consecutive Emmys® for Outstanding Drama. His performance in the show garnered Lowe an Emmy nomination, as well as two Golden Globe® nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Lowe was also nominated three times for the Screen Actors Guild Award, winning twice.

In addition to his work in television and film, Lowe has also achieved distinguished success in theatre. In September of 2005 he made his West End debut starring in Aaron Sorkin’s “A Few Good Men”, receiving fervent reviews at the Royal Haymarket Theatre in London. Additionally, Lowe’s theatre credits include the Broadway production of “Little Hotel on the Side” and “Three Sisters.”

Lowe’s feature film debut came in 1983 when Francis Ford Coppola cast him in “The Outsiders”. He went on to star in other popular dramas such as “St. Elmo’s Fire”, “About Last Night and Bad Influence”, as well as the blockbuster comedies “Wayne’s World” and “Tommy Boy”. After “Wayne’s World”, Lowe re-teamed with Mike Myers in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”. Additional film credits include “A View from the Top”, “Class”, “The Hotel New Hampshire”, “Oxford Blues”, “Youngblood”, “Square Dance”, “Masquerade” and “Mulholland Falls”. He has also been successful with highly-rated television miniseries such as Lifetime’s “Beach Girls”, “Salem’s Lot” for TNT, “The Christmas Shoes” for CBS and “The Stand” for ABC.

Lowe’s pervasive passion and talent in front of the camera transcends even further with his accredited role as producer, writer and director. In 1994, he produced and starred in the film “Frank and Jesse” for Trimark Pictures. For television Lowe produced the NBC series “The Lyon’s Den” and the CBS series “Dr. Vegas”. He also wrote and directed the short film “Desert’s Edge”, which debuted at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and the Los Angeles International Film Festival. The film subsequently aired on Showtime in 1997.

Lowe, his wife and their two sons currently reside in California.