Gena Rowlands, the esteemed actress and honorary Oscar winner renowned for her influential collaborations with her husband, actor and director John Cassavetes, has passed away at the age of 94. She died at her home in California, as reported by TMZ.
Rowlands’ son, Nick Cassavetes—who directed her in the acclaimed film The Notebook—revealed that she had been battling Alzheimer’s disease. In June 2024, he shared with Entertainment Weekly, “She’s in full dementia. It’s so crazy—we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”
In a 2015 interview, Rowlands expressed her lifelong passion for acting. “I always wanted to be an actress,” she said, reflecting on her journey. “I began to realize that you didn’t have to just live one life; you could be a lot of people and do a lot of things, and it caught my fancy.”
While her roles often showcased a glamorous facade, the characters crafted by John Cassavetes were deeply rooted in gritty realism. She portrayed a nuanced sex worker in Faces, a fragile wife and mother in A Woman Under the Influence, and a reluctant protector of a young boy in Gloria. These performances earned her Academy Award nominations.
Rowlands also excelled in television, winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her work in The Betty Ford Story and receiving another Emmy for her role in Face of a Stranger, where she depicted a woman grappling with the aftermath of her husband’s gambling addiction.
Her powerful presence extended beyond leading roles; she was a valued supporting actress. Cate Blanchett highlighted Rowlands’ exceptional talent while presenting her with an honorary Oscar at the 2015 Governor’s Award ceremony, emphasizing the unique authenticity she brought to her performances.
Nicknamed an original by playwright Tennessee Williams, Rowlands was celebrated for her distinctive approach to character portrayal. She admired Bette Davis, with whom she starred in Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter, crediting Davis for inspiring her to embrace complex and unconventional roles. “In those days, women were expected to be sweet and obedient, and that just wasn’t what I was interested in,” she said.
Born Virginia Cathryn Rowlands on June 19, 1930, in Cambria, Wisconsin, she was the daughter of Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands, a politician, and Mary Allen Neal, an actress known as Lady Rowlands. Rowlands left the University of Wisconsin before completing her studies to chase her acting dreams in New York City. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she met Cassavetes, who immediately announced to a friend that he would marry her.