Chad Lowe

A onetime teen star riding the wake of his heartthrob brother, Rob, Chad Lowe won professional laurels early in his career before paralleling his sibling's pattern of personal turmoil and journeyman's acting résumé. A Midwestern boy transplanted to the West Coast at an early age, Lowe found his way to Hollywood as a teenager, landing the title role on the sitcom, "Spencer" (NBC, 1984-85), and went on to win an Emmy Award for his portrayal of a young man suffering from AIDS on the family drama "Life Goes On" (ABC, 1989-1993). He did a stint on Aaron Spelling's primetime soap "Melrose Place" (Fox, 1992-99), and the next year married longtime girlfriend, and another of Spelling's stars, Hilary Swank. But within a matter of years, Swank's career eclipsed Lowe's, as she rose to become one of the most lauded actors in Hollywood, earning two Best Actress Oscars in ensuing years. Ever less enamored with his own roles, mostly TV series guest roles and minor film work, he developed a substance abuse problem, which ultimately helped lead to their divorce in 2006. He rebounded by directing the well-received indie feature "Beautiful Ohio" (2006), and, in another bit of symmetry with Rob's roller-coaster career, which had seen a revival on the political drama "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006), he made his most intensive return to TV playing a presidential advisor on "24" (Fox, 2001-2010). Though having lived a cautionary story of the high expectations and resulting pitfalls that too often accompanied youthful stardom, Lowe also demonstrated the twin assets so often needed in to stay afloat Hollywood: resilience and reinvention.