She became 94 years old. - Queen of the American indie film, Gena Rowlands, is dead.
Blonde Hair, Ice-Blue Eyes, and a Seductive Smile: Gena Rowlands was hailed as the Queen of American Indie Film. "Gena is subtle, delicate, she's a wonder. She's direct. And unyielding. She can do anything," raved the late director John Cassavetes once. For over three decades, the two were married, with Cassavetes being Rowlands' discoverer and biggest fan. With successful films like "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) or "Gloria" (1980), he made her a critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated star. Now, Rowlands has passed away at the age of 94.
Gena Rowlands Struggled with Alzheimer's
The talent agency WME, which represents Rowlands' son Nick Cassavetes, confirmed the actress' death to the news agency DPA. She died in Indian Wells, California, as reported by U.S. media.
Director Nick Cassavetes announced in June that his mother had been suffering from Alzheimer's for several years. He cast Rowlands in the 2004 romantic drama "The Notebook," in which she played an elderly woman named Allie suffering from Alzheimer's in a nursing home. The film looks back on the young Allie (Rachel McAdams) and her great love Noah (Ryan Gosling).
The actress, who married businessman Robert Forrest in 2012, continued to work until her later years. "I'm very happy that I've made it this far," she told the "Huffington Post" at the age of 84. "When you say it out loud, it sounds very old. And it is. But you can still have a lot of fun."
Rowlands' family is deeply rooted in the film industry. Her mother, Lady Rowlands, was also an actress, and both parents supported her career plans. All three of Rowlands and Cassavetes' children - Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe - followed their parents into the film business.
The 100 Lives of Gena Rowlands
"I love acting because you get to live 100 lives," Rowlands told the "Los Angeles Times" in 2014. "You don't have to spend your whole life just with yourself." Her characters were always incredibly multifaceted - whether it was the prostitute in "Faces" (1968), the lonely museum employee Minerva in "Minnie and Moskowitz" (1971), the philosophy professor for Woody Allen in "Another Woman" (1988), or the Hollywood agent for Jim Jarmusch in "Night on Earth" (1991).
She had actually never thought about films, only about theater, said Rowlands. "But then John started getting interested in independent films, and everything changed." They met at acting school in New York, and it was love at first sight for Rowlands and Cassavetes. They married in 1954. So radically independent from big money - and its constraints - in Hollywood did the innovative maverick want to be that the couple had trouble financing their films. Often, they had to tour the U.S. coast to coast with some friends to interest cinema owners and the public in their projects.
"Film was our life. It was wild, intense years. The best of my life." The shock of Cassavetes' death in 1989 at the age of 59 after a long illness lasted a long time. She felt like a zombie, said Rowlands later. It took her almost two years to get back in front of the camera. Looking back, she regrets nothing, she said once. "I had incredible luck. I really did."
For her roles in the successful films "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) and "Gloria" (1980), both directed by her husband, she was nominated for an Oscar each time, but left empty-handed. In 2015, the Film Academy honored the then 85-year-old actress with an honorary Oscar for her lifetime achievement.
Despite her struggle with Alzheimer's, Gena Rowlands continued to act in films, including her role as an elderly woman suffering from the disease in "The Notebook" directed by her son Nick Cassavetes. After her acting career, Rowlands expressed her joy of playing various characters, saying, "I love acting because you get to live 100 lives."
