Gena Rowlands, hailed as one of the greatest actors to ever practice the craft and a guiding light in independent cinema as a star in groundbreaking movies by her director husband, John Cassavetes, and who later charmed audiences in her son's tear-jerker The Notebook, has died. She was 94.
Rowlands' death was confirmed Wednesday by representatives for her son, filmmaker Nick Cassavetes. He revealed earlier this year that his mother had Alzheimer's disease. TMZ reported that Rowlands died Wednesday at her home in Indian Wells, California.
Operating outside the studio system, the husband-and-wife team of John Cassavetes and Rowlands created indelible portraits of working-class strivers and small-timers in such films as A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria and Faces.
Rowlands made 10 films across four decades with Cassavetes, including Minnie and Moskowitz in 1971, Opening Night in 1977 and Love Streams in 1984.
She earned two Oscar nods for two of them: 1974's A Woman Under the Influence, in which she played a wife and mother cracking under the burden of domestic harmony, and Gloria in 1980, about a woman who helps a young boy escape the mob.
In addition to the Oscar nominations, Rowlands earned three Primetime Emmy Awards, one Daytime Emmy and two Golden Globes. She was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 2015 in recognition of her work and legacy in Hollywood.
A new generation was introduced to Rowlands in her son's blockbuster The Notebook, in which she played a woman whose memory is ravaged, looking back on a romance for the ages. Her younger self was portrayed by Rachel McAdams.
In her later years, Rowlands made several appearances in films and TV, including in The Skeleton Key and the detective series Monk. Her last appearance in a movie was in 2014, playing a retiree who befriends her gay dance instructor in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks.
She and Cassavetes met at the American School of Dramatic Arts when both their careers were beginning. They married four months later.
Gena (pronounced Jenna) Rowlands became a seasoned actor through live television drama and tours in The Seven Year Itch and Time for Ginger as well as off-Broadway.
Her big break came when Josh Logan cast her opposite Edward G Robinson in Paddy Chayefsky's play Middle of the Night.
In addition to Nick, she and Cassavetes had two daughters, Alexandra and Zoe, who also pursued acting careers. John Cassavetes died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1989, and Rowlands returned to acting to assuage her grief. Between assignments she sometimes attended film festivals and societies for Cassavetes screenings.
