Hollywood Star Gena Rowlands Dies at 94 After Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

Gena Rowlands, the iconic and Oscar-nominated star of cinematic masterpieces such as A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night, Night on Earth, and The Notebook, passed away on Wednesday at her home in Indian Wells, California. She was 94.

The cause of death has not been immediately disclosed. Rowlands was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019, according to her family.

TMZ first reported Rowlands’ death on Wednesday night. A representative for her son, Nick Cassavetes, later confirmed the news to Variety and The Washington Post.

A four-time Emmy winner and two-time Oscar nominee, Rowlands was celebrated for her collaborations with her husband, actor and director John Cassavetes.

In 2004, she starred in The Notebook, a romantic drama directed by her son, Nick.

Nick Cassavetes disclosed his mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis over the summer.

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

Besides Nick, Rowlands is survived by her husband, Robert Forrest, and two daughters, Alexandra and Zoe Cassavetes.

Source: The Daily Beast, Variety, The Washington Post