Rob Lowe, wife sue former nannies, chef

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Rob Lowe and his wife have sued two former nannies and an ex-chef, claiming they violated confidentiality agreements and in one case lied about having sex with the star of television show "Brothers and Sisters."

The lawsuits were filed on Monday, the same day Lowe said on the Huffington Post Web site that one of his ex-nannies was demanding $1.5 million or she would "accuse us of a vicious laundry list of false terribles."

In his blog post, the 44-year-old actor said the former nanny abruptly left the Lowe family in February after seven years of employment and was now making "false claims of harassment" for financial gain.

The couple's lawsuit against Jessica Gibson, which was filed in Santa Barbara County where they live and posted on the celebrity Web site TMZ.com, claims Gibson "made false statements to others to suggest that she had a personal and intimate relationship with Rob Lowe."

In the breach of contract and defamation suit, which seeks unspecified damages, they also claim Gibson falsely portrayed Lowe's wife, Sheryl, as an overly demanding and abusive employer and "violated their personal space for her own sexual trysts."

"The Lowes are informed and believe ... that (Gibson) would bring men with whom she was sexually involved into the Lowes' home after hours without their knowledge, permission or approval," the couple says in the lawsuit.

"Such behavior is absolutely unacceptable and, had the Lowes been aware of it at the time, it would have been cause for immediate termination."

The Lowes filed a pair of separate lawsuits against another former nanny and their ex-chef, claiming that both divulged personal information about the couple.

The couple accused ex-nanny Laura Boyce, in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, of "conspiring" with others to damage the reputation of the actor and his wife, who is a film and television make-up artist.

Lowe, who first gained fame as a member of the so-called Brat Pack, starred in such hit 1980s films as "The Outsiders" and "St. Elmo's Fire." He was nominated for an Emmy for his role as a presidential speech writer in "The West Wing."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Eric Walsh)