Katie Lowes Talks ‘Hunting Wives,’ Shondaland and Sunscreen

With her magnetic screen presence and a devoted fanbase from her breakout role on Scandal, Katie Lowes brings both charisma and depth to everything she does. We recently chatted with the star to talk Hunting Wives—the steamy series that’s taken Netflix by storm—as she gave us an inside look into her recent Shondaland reunion at the US Open.

The Shondaland team was all over the screens at the US Open. How did you get ready for the event? Did you wear a lot of sunscreen?

“Oh yes, I’m crazy. I use EltaMD. It’s my go-to. I like the tinted, but I’ve also had years of the clear. I like the size of it. It fits in my handbag and I can just refresh all day. Then, I use the Supergoop! Play all over my arms and my chest.

It looked like you were having a blast with with your friends and your coworkers.

“Oh my God. It’s so fun! There were so many crossovers that were just amazing. I was there with my Scandal family, and my husband’s on The Bear, and Jeremy Allen White was there. We were hanging out, and then Leslie Odom Jr. was there. My husband and I made our Broadway debuts in Waitress, which was starring Leslie’s wife, Nicolette Robinson. We’ve been friends for a long time. I was texting with Laverne Cox, who was there, who was on Inventing Anna, which was another Shonda Rhimes show. It’s like all these degrees of who have you worked with, they stop by and you just can’t believe we all get to be there asking each other, ‘How many Honey Deuces have you had?’”

And then you have Hunting Wives still going strong on Netflix. People are still talking about it. Did you sense it was going to get this kind of reaction while you were filming it?

“No! I don’t think I’ve ever been on a show where I’ve known that or thought that! Let’s just be real. I was a waitress for 15 years, and it’s really hard to even get a show made. It’s really hard to get a show off the ground, greenlit, let alone have it become a binge-worthy show that people are talking about and enjoying. Between Scandal and Inventing Anna and Hunting Wives, I’m still like, ‘Wait, what??’ I’m always shocked; I’m grateful, and I don’t ever take it for granted, that’s for sure.

I was walking around the US Open all weekend, and women and men were shouting, ‘Brad, Brad, Brad,’ who’s Jill’s son on the show. It was the best. I was on the subway last night at 1:30 in the morning, taking a bunch of pictures with huge Hunting Wives fans. I’m just so thrilled for Rebecca Cutter, the showrunner. She’s so talented. We became so close as a cast: Malin Ackerman and Brittany Snow, Jamie Ray Newman, Chrissy Metz. We are so close, and we shot in Charlotte, North Carolina, over a year ago, and I’m just so thrilled for everybody to be the caliber of artist they are and get attention for that. I just think it’s awesome. It’s great, because I’ve also been on a ton of shows that never seemed like that.”

And your character really nailed it with the big hair.

“Yes, she did. That was all my hair! That’s called a backcomb with a ton of hairspray. It really took that saying, ‘The higher the hair, the closer to God,’ or, ‘Jilly Bean hides her secrets in her hair.’ The minute the hair came together, and the makeup with the long strip lash was applied, and a dress that was up to your neck, but with a Van Cleef necklace, I knew exactly what my assignment was.”

You nailed it. What else do you have on tap as we get into the new month?

“I have a bunch of hands in projects that I cannot say them, but hopefully will be seeing the light of day sometime soon. I just feel like we’re getting back. My kids just went back to school. I have a four-year-old and a seven-year-old, and it’s the first time ever they’re at the same drop-off. It just needs to be celebrated in and of itself. We have Emmys coming up, and that’s always a really fun weekend of seeing friends from all different kinds of jobs. I also have a 43rd birthday coming up September 22. I’m going to go out dancing with my girlfriends. I’m just freaking psyched to be here, psyched to have a show that people are in to, and psyched for the one-kid drop-off!”