Legendary actress Gena Rowlands, who starred in her son’s iconic tear-jerker film, “The Notebook,” Died at age 94 He died Wednesday after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Rowlands’ death was confirmed by a representative for her son, Nick Cassavetes, the filmmaker who announced his mother’s diagnosis earlier this year. Rowlands died on Wednesday surrounded by loved ones at her home in Indian Wells, California, TMZ reported.
Rowlands and her late husband, film director John Cassavetes, were pioneers of the independent film industry, producing 10 films together, including 1971’s “Minnie & Moskowitz,” 1977’s “Opening Night” and 1984’s “Love Streams.”
She was nominated for an Academy Award twice during her career: in the 1974 drama “A Woman of Influence,” for playing a wife and mother struggling with domestic issues, and in the 1980 film “Gloria,” for playing a woman who rescues a boy pursued by gang members.
Rowlands has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, one Daytime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and in 2015 was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for her work and achievements in Hollywood.
“You know what’s great about being an actress? You don’t just live one life,” she said at the Oscars podium. “You live many lives.”
The Hollywood star was introduced to a new generation in 2004 with her son in the hit romantic comedy, The Notebook, in which she played an elderly woman with dementia who reminisces about a past relationship – her younger counterpart was played by Rachel McAdams.
She and Cassavetes met at the American School of Dramatic Arts when they were both just starting their careers and married just four months later. Cassavetes released his first film, “Shadows,” in 1960, which was praised for its New York City cinematography and stark realism.
After earning her degree, Rowlands continued to work in stage productions on and off-Broadway, and her big break came when she starred opposite Edward G. Robinson in Paddy Chayefsky’s production of Mid of the Night, which earned her critical acclaim as a new star.
MGM offered her a two-movie-a-year contract. Her first film was the comedy “The High Cost of Loving,” directed by and co-starring José Ferrer, which earned Rowlands comparisons to the great Golden Age actress Carole Lombard.
She later asked to be released from her contract so she could have a family.
In addition to her son Nick, she and Cassavetes had two daughters, Alexandra and Zoe, who also had successful acting careers. Cassavetes’ death from cirrhosis of the liver in 1989 left her heartbroken but inspired her to return to acting after a long break.
“I want people to see his films,” she said of her husband at the San Sebastián Film Festival in 1992. “John was one of a kind, the most fearless person I’ve ever known. He had a very unique way of thinking about life and human individuality.”
She appeared in TV series such as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Bonanza,” “Dr. Kildare” and “The Virginian,” and also starred opposite the iconic Bette Davis in the 1979 TV movie “Strangers.”
Her other credits include “Lonely Man” with Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson’s “Spiral Road,” “A Child Is Waiting” with Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland, “Two Minute Warning” with Charlton Heston, her film debut with Cassavetes and Molly Ringwald in “The Tempest,” and Paul Schrader’s 1987 film “Light of Day,” her portrayal of a blue-collar family as a mother who wants to do right by her kids.
She also starred in Woody Allen’s 1988 drama “Another Woman.”
Rowlands’ last film role was in 2014’s “Six Weeks,” in which she played a retired woman who becomes close to a gay dance instructor. She retired after filming finished.
Rowlands said in 1992 that she cherished every role she played.
“Sometimes, like during the White Nights, when I can’t sleep and I have a lot of time to think about things, I look at different possibilities for the different characters and what they’re up to,” she said.
With post wire
