Gena Rowlands, the celebrated actress renowned for her roles in “A Woman Under the Influence,” “Gloria,” and “The Notebook,” has passed away at the age of 94.
Her son, filmmaker Nick Cassavetes, disclosed in June 2024 that Rowlands had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for five years. Her death was later confirme.
A four-time Emmy winner and two-time Golden Globe winner, Rowlands also received an Honorary Academy Award. Her illustrious career in theater, film, and television spanned nearly seven decades.
She is perhaps best known for her work with her late husband, actor and director John Cassavetes, earning two Academy Award nominations for her performances in his films “A Woman Under the Influence” and “Gloria.”
Born Virginia Cathryn Rowlands on June 19, 1930, in Cambria, Wisconsin, she studied drama in New York City before beginning her career in repertory theater.
Rowlands made her Broadway debut in 1953 in “The Seven Year Itch” and later starred alongside Edward G. Robinson in Paddy Chayefsky’s stage adaptation of “Middle of the Night.”
Rowlands met John Cassavetes while they were both students at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and they married in 1954, only a few months after meeting.
Over the next six years, Rowlands worked steadily in television, including roles in “Johnny Staccato,” starring Cassavetes, and appearances in popular series like “Bonanza,” “The Virginian,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “77 Sunset Strip,” and “Peyton Place.”
Gena Rowlands made her film debut in 1958 with “The High Cost of Living.” Five years later, she starred in her first movie directed by Cassavetes, 1963’s “A Child Is Waiting,” alongside Judy Garland and Burt Lancaster.
The couple continued their collaboration with nine more films over the next decade, including the Oscar-nominated 1968 drama “Faces.”
One of Rowlands’ most acclaimed performances came in the 1974 drama “A Woman Under the Influence,” which Cassavetes wrote and directed specifically for her.
To finance the film when no studio would, the couple mortgaged their home. The film, which depicted the mental and emotional unraveling of a middle-aged housewife, earned Rowlands a Golden Globe for Best Actress and an Academy Award nomination.
She received a second Oscar nomination for her role in the 1980 crime thriller “Gloria,” also written and directed by Cassavetes, where she played a woman protecting the young son of a mob bookkeeper.
Their last collaboration, the 1984 drama “Love Streams,” was critically acclaimed but little seen. It was also Cassavetes’ penultimate film before his death in 1989 from complications related to alcoholism.
Beyond her work with Cassavetes, Rowlands earned praise for her roles in Woody Allen’s 1988 drama “Another Woman” and as former First Lady Betty Ford in the 1987 TV movie “The Betty Ford Story,” for which she won both a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Rowlands continued to work in film and television, with notable roles in the Sandra Bullock romantic drama “Hope Floats” and the ensemble comedy-drama “Playing by Heart” opposite Sean Connery.
She also appeared in the groundbreaking 1985 TV movie “An Early Frost,” one of the first films to address the stigma of AIDS, and won an Emmy for her role in the 2002 TV movie “Hysterical Blindness” with Uma Thurman.
Rowlands’ most iconic later role came in the 2004 romantic drama “The Notebook,” directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. She portrayed the elderly version of Rachel McAdams’ character, opposite James Garner as her husband.
Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing over $118 million worldwide and introducing Rowlands to a new generation of fans.
Nick Cassavetes directed his mother in three other films: “Unhook the Stars,” “She’s So Lovely,” and “Yellow.” Her daughter, Zoe, directed her in the 2007 film “Broken English.” Later in her career, Rowlands also made guest appearances on hit TV shows like “Numb3rs,” “Monk,” and “NCIS.”
Rowlands’ final acting role was in the 2014 comedy-drama “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,” one year before she received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her long and distinguished career in film.
“You know what’s wonderful about being an actress,” Rowlands said during her Academy Award acceptance speech, “is that you don’t just live one life—yours—you live many lives.”
In addition to her Academy Award, Rowlands was nominated twice for an Oscar, for “A Woman Under the Influence” and “Gloria.”
She was also nominated for eight Golden Globe Awards, winning two, and earned three Primetime Emmy Awards out of eight nominations, along with a Daytime Emmy and numerous other critics’ awards.
Rowlands was married once, to John Cassavetes. She is survived by their three children: director Nick Cassavetes, and daughters Alexandra and Zoe, both of whom are actors and directors.