Aurora Starchild
Rob Lowe is one of those actors who has aged like fine wine. He was a heartthrob in the 80s and he still is today. But ladies, he’s taken. And on that note, his wife — and his two sons — are equally beautiful, talented individuals. Here’s the scoop on Rob Lowe’s life, wife, and the glue that keeps it all together.
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Rob Lowe’s Early Life
Robert Hepler Lowe was born March 17, 1964 in Charlottesville, Virginia. His mother, Barbara, was a teacher, and his father, Charles, was a lawyer. He spent much of his childhood in Dayton, Ohio, before moving to Malibu, California, with his mom and brother. He attended Santa Monica High School, where he met Charlie Sheen.
Lowe’s Early Career
Rob Lowe’s very first cinematic role was at the age of 12 on ABC’s sitcom A New Kind of Family. He played Tony Flanagan on an 11-episode run from 1979 to 1980. He was on two episodes of the TV series ABC Afterschool Specials in 1980 and 1981. In 1983, he starred as Sam Alden in the TV movie Thursday’s Child.
That same year, he was in Francis Ford Coppolla’s The Outsiders, for what many consider to be his breakout role. He costarred alongside greats like Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, and Christopher Howell. His character was Sodapop Curtis, and the part would forever put him down in history as one of those unforgettable crushes in film.
In 1985, Lowe played Billy Hicks in St. Elmo’s Fire. That role officially placed him in the “Brat Pack” (which included Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and more).
Rob Lowe’s List of Credits Shows His Dedication
He’s been in a jaw-dropping 104 separate projects for acting alone, according to his IMDb, with more as a producer, director, and writer. He has nearly 200 credits just from cameos as himself. There truly isn’t a single gap showing any kind of break in acting — Lowe’s been continuously filmed from the start of his career up into the present day. He’s been iconic movies like Wayne’s World and Austin Powers, and TV shows like Parks and Recreation and The West Wing.
Notably, Rob Lowe has received 14 professional nominations and won 4. The first was Worst Supporting Actor for his role in St. Elmo’s Fire at the 1985 Golden Raspberry Awards. He was part of the The West Wing cast that won the 2000 Satellite Awards Best Cast Award. That same ensemble earned two Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2002 and 2003.
Currently, among other projects, Lowe is executive producing and starring in Netflix’s series Unstable. One of his two sons, John Owen, will also be producing.
How Rob Lowe Met the Love of His Life
Rob Lowe had quite the bad-boy reputation in the 80s and he knows it. He couldn’t hold monogamous relationships, he was caught up in sex tape ménage à trois scandal with an underage girl, and he struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse. All of this came to a screeching halt when he met his now-wife, Sheryl Berkoff.
Well, kind of…
Actually, Rob Lowe met Sheryl Berkoff while on a blind date in 1983. Nothing major happened and they went their separate ways. Until they met again…seven years later.
Here are the lovebirds in 1990.
7 years later, the two re-met while on the set of Bad Influence. Sheryl, who worked as a makeup artist at the time, happened to coincidentally be working on Rob. The two hit it off, and the Parks and Recreation actor turned his life around.
“I had met my now wife, Sheryl, and was attempting my first try at monogamy—which was not really in my nature at the time—and I wasn’t able to do it,” Lowe told Haute Living. “It made me examine how I was living my life. That led me to getting sober, which led me to changing my life—giving me everything I now have.”
Rob Lowe Changed His Life Around Out of Love for Sheryl
Lowe added, “You have to want to change. I wanted it; I was ready.”
The math is easy. 73 weeks ago (around May 17, 2021), Lowe posted on Instagram that he was 31 years sober. His 30th anniversary was July 22, 2021. So Rob Lowe got sober just over one year before he married the love of his life, and all because he truly felt it and wanted to.
That’s probably also why he’s still so handsome!
Lowe told Entertainment Tonight that Sheryl probably saved his life.
“Listen, she may have saved my life, really,” he said. “I mean, she met me when I was at the end of my ’80s run of wild boy craziness and she was worth changing my life for. And so, I am really lucky that that happened to me. Maybe I had changed it on my own, maybe, but it’s a big maybe. And just when I met her, I knew that if I could not make it with her, I definitely could not make it work with anyone else.”
What Does Rob’s Wife Sheryl Berkoff Do?
Sheryl was born on June 21, 1961, in Los Angeles, California. She studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. Sheryl went on to work on a long list of hit projects, eventually starting her own jewelry company, Sheryl Lowe Jewelry.
And her hubby is madly in love with her to this day, so whatever she’s been doing, she’s been doing it right.
Rob once told AOL that the secret to a successful marriage is finding the right person.
“It really is all about who you pick,” he said. “I always say to people, ‘If there’s any way to marry your best friend, do it.’ ‘Cause the rest of it comes and goes, and I was very lucky there.”
They’re Not Afraid to Go to Therapy When They Need To
Lowe also said that he and Sheryl are big advocates of therapy.
“The one thing, though, that has been a part of our family is the notion of therapy as a sort of proactive, non-shaming [practice], like a trainer,” he said. “We think of going to therapy or talking to a therapist … it’s literally no different from a chiropractor.”
He added, “Half of us don’t know how to communicate, and it’s only getting worse with texting and all of that. Communication is a huge thing, and we still struggle with it.
“Sheryl and I still have somebody we would see if we ever felt like we need it. We do it less and less, but there have been times where we’ve been seeing someone, and I look forward to it! […] I always come out of it feeling even more reconnected, but I think that people look at it as a sign of trouble.”
Sheryl and Rob have two sons, John Owen and Edward Matthew (who prefers to go by Matthew).
John Owen Lowell
John (Johnny) was born on November 6, 1995. He is a Stanford alum, actor, and writer. He works with WME Talent Agency and is currently working with his father on a project for Netflix, as a co-creator.
Admirably and remarkably, like his father, Johnny’s not afraid to talk about recovering from addiction. For those who have never been there, it’s not an easy thing to do. And for those who have been there, it’s still not an easy thing to do.
“I haven’t been vocal about my sobriety on here just because I felt it was something I wanted to keep personal, but I had a change of heart today,” Johnny wrote on Instagram. “Two years in and I am more grateful than ever to have a community of support and friends who continue to build me up and hold me accountable. Making the decision to change your life is difficult at any age, but as a young person I hope that I can be a small example that it is possible and that things really do get SO MUCH BETTER.”
Edward Matthew Lowell (Matthew Lowell)
Matthew Lowe was born September 24, 1993, making him 29 today. He attended Duke and Loyola Marymount Universities. He is an entrepreneur and the Vice President of Business Development for Miroma Ventures. Matthew claims to be “A hot mess of dogs, outdoors and family,” but you should probably add “fishing” to the list. It’s clear he loves to cast a line.
Both of Rob Lowe’s sons are handsome as can be and are essentially his lookalikes, except they have blonde hair like their momma.
The Lowe Family Obviously Has a Great Sense of Humor
But the best, best thing about the Lowe family is definitely, hands down, the fact that Matthew and Johnny love to troll their dad. Seriously, it’s nonstop. (Really, this compilation best describes it).
And they also love their momma and poppa, which of course, tops the trolling. Love trumps all.
