R.I.P. Gena Rowlands: ‘The Notebook,’ ‘A Woman Under The Influence’ Actress Dead At 94

Oscar-nominated actress Gena Rowlands , best known for her notable performance in countless dramas, has passed away. She was 94.

Variety reports that her death was confirmed by the agent of her son, Nick Cassavetes . Rowlands passed away Wednesday (Aug. 14) at her home in Indian Wells, California, just weeks after her family revealed she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Nick announced her diagnosis on the 20th anniversary of The Notebook , which he directed. Rowlands’ character in the film also suffers from dementia. At the time of his announcement, Nick revealed she had been battling the disease for five years and had gone into “full dementia.” Rowlands had previously said that she took the role because her mother also dealt with Alzheimer’s disease.

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“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. She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us,” he told Entertainment Weekly at the time.

Rowlands left an unforgettable mark on Hollywood. Her career began in 1954 with several television appearances in Top Secret , Goodyear Playhouse , and Appointment with Adventure , amongst others. Her decades-long career took her across television and film, with a stint in the 1967 series Peyton Place , as well as memorable performances in Hope Floats and The Notebook .

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She earned both of her Oscar nominations for her work with her first husband, John Cassavetes , who passed away in 1989. They met at her audition for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and were married within a year, per The Guardian . Thus began their decades-long relationship and creative partnership.

According to her IMDb, Rowlands played an uncredited appearance in his first film, Shadows . She later had in a small role in his 1963 film A Child Is Waiting and later the 1968 indie Faces .

In the 1974 classic, A Woman Under The Influence , Rowlands played a woman experiencing a nervous breakdown. Both she and Cassavetes were nominated for Oscars for the film. She was later nominated again for Best Actress for her performance in the 1980 mob drama Gloria .

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“After John had done the screenplay for [ A Woman Under the Influence ], everyone said: ‘Why does anyone want to see a picture about a crazy middle-aged dame?'” she told The Guardian in 2001. “But we were luckier than a lot of young directors now because we were both established actors and when we ran out of money, which was all the time, we would stop and each make a movie.”

Rowlands and Cassavetes starred in their final film together in 1984, Love Streams , after actor Jon Voight dropped out at the time last minute.

“John said: ‘Oh, hell, I’ll do it.’ I’m so glad that he did, not that I don’t love Jon Voight , but because that was our last picture together,” she said.

Rowlands retired from acting in 2014 after she starred in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks , though she made an appearance in the 2017 short film Unfortunate Circumstances .

Rowlands is survived by by her husband Robert and her three children Nick, Alexandra and Zoe Cassavetes.

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