Gena Rowlands — star of A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night, Gloria, and The Notebook — died Wednesday at her home in Indian Wells, CA. According to TMZ, cause of death has not been released, but the actor had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2019.
Rowlands first came to fame on primetime soap opera Peyton Place. Other stars to come from the show include Mia Farrow and Valley of the Dolls’s Barbara Parkins. She met first husband John Cassavetes while studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. They wed in 1954. Beginning with 1963’s A Child Is Waiting, the pair made 10 films together. Their work helped define independent cinema in America. Rowlands was nominated for roles in two: A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria. At the 1977 Berlin Film Festival, she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Opening Night. She also starred in Woody Allen’s Another Woman. In 2015, she received the Governors Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2004, Rowlands starred in her son Nick Cassavetes’ film The Notebook. She played the older version of Rachel McAdams’ Allie Hamilton. Nick Cassavetes noted the irony of Rowlands’ own dementia diagnosis, saying “We lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.â€