She has appeared almost exclusively in the works of John Waters for most of her career, starring in ten of his films.

[2] She was a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in the 1960s,[2] when she became friends with Divine and other Dreamlanders.

Her first role with Waters was playing an asylum inmate in Mondo Trasho.

She has taught art history classes at MICA, Catonsville Community College, and University of Maryland.

Her first husband, surnamed McLean, was a drawing teacher at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), where Lowe had worked as a model.