Beloved actress Gena Rowlands has died at 94, multiple reports confirm. The star was known for works such as “Gloria” and “A Woman Under the Influence,” for which she received two Oscar nominations.
According to Deadline, Rowlands passed away on the afternoon of August 14 at her home in Indian Wells, California. She was surrounded by family. No cause of death was given, but the retired actress had been battling Alzheimer’s disease.
Her son, director and actor Nick Cassavetes, confirmed the diagnosis a few months ago to Entertainment Weekly. To younger generations, she was known for playing older Allie (a character that also suffered from Alzheimer) in his romantic drama “The Notebook.”
Gena Rowlands, one of the most original actors of her generation
Rowlands is widely regarded as one of the most talented actresses in the history of American cinema. With a career spanning several decades, she collaborated with some of the most respected directors, includingher former husband John Cassavetes. She earned two Academy Award nominations for his films “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974) and “Gloria” (1980).
In addition to her work with Cassavetes, Rowlands delivered memorable performances in other significant films, such as Woody Allen’s “Another Woman” (1988) and her son Nick Cassavetes’s “The Notebook” (2004). She also earned a Silver Bear for Best Actress thanks to her role in “Opening Night” (1977).
She also won four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Her Emmy wins came for her performances in The Betty Ford Story (1987), Face of a Stranger (1991), and Hysterical Blindness (2002), as well as a Daytime Emmy for The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003).
Retirement and battle with Alzheimer
In 2015, after a storied career, Rowlands retired from Hollywood, leaving behind a legacy of iconic performances. That same year, she was honored with an Honorary Academy Award. Richard Brody of The New Yorker in 2021 called her “the most important and original movie actor of the past half century-plus.”
Her son, Nick Cassavetes, spoke to Entertainment Weekly in June about his mother’s Alzheimer. “I got my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer’s and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she’s had Alzheimer’s,” said the director. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us,” he revealed at the time.
Survivors include her husband, Robert, and children Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe Cassavetes.
