‘The Notebook’ Star Gena Rowlands Passes Away at 94

Gena Rowlands, celebrated actress renowned for her performances in A Woman Under the Influence and The Notebook, has passed away. Rowlands died at her home in Indian Wells, California on Wednesday, August 14. She was 94 years old, as reported by TMZ.

While the cause of Rowlands’ death has not been revealed, her son, filmmaker Nick Cassavetes, disclosed earlier that his mother had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for five years. In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Cassavetes reflected on his mother’s portrayal of an older Allie Calhoun in The Notebook, a character who also battles Alzheimer’s.

“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 said. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy – we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”

Born Virginia Cathryn Rowlands on June 19, 1930, in Cambria, Wisconsin, Rowlands pursued her education at the University of Wisconsin before moving to New York City. There, she studied drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she met her husband and consistent collaborator, John Cassavetes.

Rowlands commenced her television career with an appearance on Top Secret in 1954 and made her feature film debut with the 1958 comedy The High Cost of Loving. Her storied career saw her starring in numerous TV series and films, including Johnny Staccato, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Islanders, Bonanza, Peyton Palace, The Betty Ford Story, Hope Floats, and Woody Allen’s 1988 film Another Woman.

Rowlands’ professional partnership with her husband resulted in 10 films, such as A Child Is Waiting, Faces, Machine Gun McCain, Minnie and Moskowitz, and Tempest. Notably, her performance in The Notebook alongside Ryan Gosling and A Woman Under the Influence solidified her status in Hollywood. Her portrayal of Mabel Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence earned her an Academy Award nomination, as did her role in Gloria.

In television, Rowlands garnered eight Emmy nominations, winning three: in 1987 for her lead role in ABC’s The Betty Ford Story, in 1992 as lead actress in Face of a Stranger, and in 2003 as a supporting actress in HBO’s Hysterical Blindness. She also won a Daytime Emmy in 2004 for Showtime’s The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie.

Gena Rowlands is survived by her children Nick, Zoe, and Alexandra (Xan), as well as her grandchildren and her second husband, Robert Forrest, whom she married in 2012.