- "Like a Day" actress is dead.
Actress Gena Rowlands (94) has passed away. She died on August 14 at the age of 94 in her home in Indian Wells, California. According to Deadline, she was surrounded by her family. The cause of death was not disclosed, but the film star was battling Alzheimer's disease.
Role in "The Notebook"
Her son, director Nick Cassavetes (65), who directed "The Notebook" (2004) with his mother, revealed this in June last year. He told Entertainment Weekly that it was "crazy" that his mother played a woman with dementia in the love story while also fighting the progressive disease herself.
His mother played the older version of Rachel McAdams' (45) character in the film 20 years ago. The cast of "The Notebook" (original title: "The Notebook") also included Ryan Gosling (43), who played the young Noah Calhoun, and James Garner (1928-2014), who played the older version. Director Cassavetes said of the film: "I got my mother to play the older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer's and dealing with it authentically, and now she's had it for five years."
Gena Rowlands initially seemed hesitant to take on the role. "This last film - 'The Notebook', based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks - was particularly difficult because I'm playing a character who has Alzheimer's. I went through that with my mother, and if Nick hadn't been directing the film, I don't think I would have done it," she told O Magazine in 2004. "It's just very hard. It was a hard but wonderful film," she explained.
Collaboration with her husband
Rowlands was born Virginia Cathryn Rowlands in 1930 in Madison, Wisconsin. She studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and initially performed on stage. She made her film debut in 1958 and went on to appear in many films, including "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) and "Gloria" (1980). She last appeared on screen in 2014. Rowlands has been nominated for multiple Golden Globes and an Emmy, and received an honorary Oscar in 2015 for her lifetime achievement.
The actress was married to director John Cassavetes (1929-1989) from 1954 until his death in 1989, and they often collaborated. Their three children are also involved in filmmaking, either as directors or actors. Since 2012, Rowlands has been married to businessman Robert Forrest.
★ Gena Rowlands' powerful performance as a woman battling Alzheimer's in "The Notebook" was particularly poignant given her own personal struggles with the disease. ♪ Gena Rowlands and her late husband, director John Cassavetes, often collaborated on film projects, creating a meaningful legacy in the industry.
