Gena Rowlands, star of A Woman Under the Influence, dies at 94
The American actor, celebrated for her arresting portrayals of intense women and her collaborations with husband John Cassavetes, had been battling Alzheimer’s disease
Gena Rowlands, the virtuosic American actor best known for her collaborative work with her husband, John Cassavetes, has died at the age of 94.
Her death was confirmed by a representative for her son, director Nick Cassavetes. In June, her family revealed that she had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for five years.
Rowlands, acclaimed for her arresting portrayals of intense, untamed women, began her career on stage and television in the 1950s.
Her collaborations with Cassavetes defined her career, creating a rare kind of artistic alchemy that pushed the boundaries of cinematic storytelling and helped launch the independent film movement in America. Rowlands appeared in 10 films directed by Cassavetes before his death in 1989.
Their work had a profound intimacy, and Rowlands earned two Best Actress Oscar nominations for performances in Cassavetes’ films. The first was for the title role in 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence, a raw and uncomfortable study of mental illness. She played the bruised and unravelling Mabel Longhetti, a woman struggling to conform to societal norms, who is constantly slipping through the cracks — while her working-class husband (Peter Falk) is at a loss as to how to manage her increasingly erratic behaviour.
The second nomination was for 1980s Gloria, in which she starred as Gloria Swenson, a world-weary, former gangster’s moll on the run with a young, precocious orphaned Puerto Rican boy.
In 2015, Rowlands received an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement. She also won three Emmys for her performances in television movies: the first for the title role in 1987’s The Betty Ford Story, the second for 1991’s Face of a Stranger, and a 2004 Daytime Emmy for her role in The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie.
In 2004, Rowlands captivated a new generation of fans with her starring role in The Notebook, directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. In the film, she inhabited the role of the elder Allie, the Alzheimer’s-stricken character played by Rachel McAdams.
“She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy – we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us,” her son told Entertainment Weekly following the disclosure of Rowlands’ own battle with the disease.
Rowlands was married to Cassavetes from 1954 until his death in 1989. She is survived by three children, Nick, Zoe and Alexandra (Xan), and her second husband, businessman Robert Forrest.