Gena Rowlands, ‘The Notebook’ Star and Renowned Actress, Dead at 94

Gena Rowlands, whose illustrious career saw her star in A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria, and The Notebook, died Wednesday at the age of 94.

The actress died at her home in Indian Wells and her death was confirmed by the office of her son’s agent, Variety confirmed. In June, her son, The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes, shared the news that his mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In the movie, Rowlands famously played the older version of Allie, Rachel McAdams’ character, who was also suffering from dementia.

“I got my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer’s and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she’s had Alzheimer’s,” Cassavetes said when speaking with Entertainment Weekly for the 20th anniversary of the film. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.

Rowlands is best known for her work with her late husband (and Nick’s father), the actor and filmmaker John Cassavetes. The couple made ten films together, including 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence, 1977’s Opening Night, and 1980’s Gloria. Rowlands was twice nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars for her performances in A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria; she eventually received an Honorary Academy Award in 2015. 

Along with her numerous film credits, Rowlands was a frequent presence on television. She ultimately won three Emmys for her work on the miniseries The Betty Ford Story (1987), Face of a Stranger (1992), and Hysterical Blindness (2003)

On Wednesday evening, Jamie Lee Curtis remembered the “brilliant actress” and said she was “one of the greats and for me a guide.” In a social media post, the actress wrote, “Rest in the knowledge that you were admired and respected.”

The Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli also shared a heartfelt tribute to the “greatest film actor ever” and compared her to Marlon Brando. “No one has before or since plunged the depths of the human psyche with such passion, truth, fearlessness and class. She inspires me endlessly and has set the bar impossibly high,” Imperioli said on Instagram. “I really can’t express how much her work has meant to me as an artist, but I watch her films often,…her work grounds me and makes me feel better about life on this Earth.”