Actress Gena Rowlands died at the age of 94 at her home in Indian Wells, California. She had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for some time.
Acclaimed for her portrayals of strong, troubled women, Rowlands spanned more than six decades of filmmaking, most of it alongside her husband, director John Cassavetes, who died in 1989. The two formed a golden partnership in American independent cinema, with films that went down in history such as “A Woman Under the Influence” and “Gloria.”
Toward the end of her career, Rowlands gained a legion of new fans for her role in the 2004 film “The Notebook,” in which she played the older version of actress Rachel McAdams’ character. Nick Cassavetes revealed in June that Rowlands, like her mother and the character she played in that film, had Alzheimer’s disease.
The Oscar nominations
Gene Rowlands received two Oscar nominations for “Gloria” and “The Wife.” In an interview with the AP, she said of her husband, “He had a particularly compassionate interest in women and their problems in society, how they were treated and how they worked through and overcame what they needed, so all his films have interesting women in them.” Rowlands has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy and two Golden Globes in her long career, and was also given an honorary Academy Award in 2015 in recognition of her work and legacy in Hollywood. Accepting the award, she said, “You know what’s wonderful about being an actress? You don’t live one life. You live many lives.”
