Legendary actress and star of The Notebook Gena Rowlands passes away at age 94 from dementia
The actress was known for her collaborations with her late husband, actor-director John Cassavetes and for her son, Nick Cassavetes’ film ‘The Notebook’
Gena Rowlands, screen icon best known for A Woman Under the Influence and The Notebook, has died. She was 94.
Rowlands died surrounded by her family — including her husband Robert and daughter Alexandra — at her Indian Welles, Calif. home on Wednesday, Aug. 14, reports TMZ, adding that no cause of death was immediately available. Her son Nick Cassavetes’ agent’s office also confirmed the news to PEOPLE.
In June 2024, Nick told Entertainment Weekly that his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease five years ago.
Rowlands was born in June 1930 in Cambria, Wisconsin. She began acting in the 1950s and made her Broadway debut in The Seven Year Itch.
In 1955, Rowlands began to guest star in TV shows such as Studio One, Laramie, Johnny Staccato opposite her husband John Cassavetes, Riverboat, The Lloyd Bridges Show, Bonanza, The Virginian and Breaking Point.
In 1958, she made her film debut in The High Cost of Loving.
It was her marriage to Cassavetes which led to some of her best-known roles. The two collaborated together on 10 films such as A Child Is Waiting, Faces, Machine Gun McCain, Minnie and Moskowitz, and Tempest.
