Susan Lowe
American actress, educator and painter (born 1948)

Laura Susan Lowe (born January 19, 1948) is an American actress, educator and painter. She has appeared almost exclusively in the works of John Waters for most of her career, starring in ten of his films.
01About
Lowe was born in Reidsville, North Carolina on January 19, 1948. She was a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in the 1960s, when she became friends with Divine and other Dreamlanders.
Her first role with Waters was playing an asylum inmate in Mondo Trasho. She continued to play small parts in many of his films, but played the lead role of Mole McHenry, the ultra-butch bleach blonde lesbian, in Desperate Living.
She has taught art history classes at MICA, Catonsville Community College, and University of Maryland.
02Personal life
Lowe has been married twice, and has two children. Her first husband, surnamed McLean, was a drawing teacher at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where Lowe had worked as a model. They wed in Ireland and had two children, Ruby and Ramsey McLean. The marriage ended seven years later. She later married Frank Tomboro of Baltimore. That union also ended in divorce.
03Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Mondo Trasho | as an asylum inmate | |
| 1970 | Multiple Maniacs | as Suzi (Cavalcade Pervert) | |
| 1974 | Female Trouble | as Vikki, the receptionist | Her son, Ramsey McLean, appeared as the infant "Taffy" in this 1974 film. During her scenes in the film, Lowe was visibly pregnant; the birth scene was filmed a few days after Lowe gave birth. |
| 1977 | Desperate Living | as Mole McHenry, a lesbian heroine | |
| 1981 | Polyester | as Mall Victim | |
| 1988 | Hairspray | as Angry Mother | |
| 1990 | Cry-Baby | as Night Court Parent | |
| 1994 | Serial Mom | as Court Groupie B | |
| 1998 | Pecker | as Hairdresser | |
| 2000 | Cecil B. DeMented | as Family Lady A | |
| 2013 | I Am Divine | as Herself |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Susan Lowe”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Mink Stole, John Waters and Susan Lowe - 2014 (27653043468) (cropped).jpg by HimmelrichPR, CC BY-SA 2.0
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