PAST SPEAKER

Rob Lowe

Best-Selling Author, Activist, and Award-Winning Actor

Orlando 2015

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, Lowe began his national acting career starring in the ABC television series A New Kind of Family. Today, Lowe’s charismatic talent and palpable success have radiated far beyond the realm of television.Lowe’s most recent project, Killing Kennedy, premiered on the National Geographic Channel in November 2013 and broke a record to become the network’s most watched telecast. In the film, Lowe stars as iconic President John F. Kennedy, alongside Ginnifer Goodwin (as first lady Jackie) in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel Killing Kennedy by Bill O’Reilly.Lowe appeared in the fifteen- time Emmy nominated HBO film, Behind the Candelabra, as Dr. Jack Startz, which aired in May 2013. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and produced by Jerry Weintraub.In spring of 2011 Rob Lowe added author to his credits with the release of his memoir, Stories I Only Tell my Friends. Complete with adolescent anecdotes, Rob Lowe 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 list, and made it onto GQ’s “Best of 2011” book list. Lowe’s follow up, Love Life, released in the Spring of 2014.Additionally, for four seasons (from 1999 – 2003) Lowe starred as Sam Seaborn on 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. He was nominated three times for the Screen Actors Guild award, winning twice.In addition to his outstanding work in television and film, Lowe has also achieved distinguished success in theatre. In September of 2005 Lowe made his West End debut starring in Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men, receiving fervent reviews at the Royal Haymarket Theatre in London. Additional theatre credits include the Broadway production of Little Hotel on the Side and Three Sisters, with Lowe playing Tuzenbach.Lowe’s feature film debut came in 1983 when Francis Ford Coppola cast him in The Outsiders, a remarkable adaptation to the 1967 novel of the same name by S.E. Hinton. 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 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 Beach Girls for Lifetime, 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.

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