Gena Rowlands Dies: ‘The Notebook’ Star & Honorary Oscar Winner Was 94

Gena Rowlands, best known for her collaborations with husband John Cassavetes and her role in The Notebook, has died. She was 94.

The retired actress died Wednesday afternoon, according to TMZ. She had been battling Alzheimer’s disease.

Rowlands was born on June 19, 1930, in Cambria, Wisconsin. Her mother, Mary Allen, whose stage name was Lady Rowlands, was an actress. Her father, Edwin Myrwyn Reynolds, was a state senator and legislator. Rowlands attended the University of Wisconsin before moving to New York City to study drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

While a student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she met and fell in love with Cassavetes. They married in 1954. Rowlands made her television debut that same year in an episode of Top Secret. Her first film role was in the 1958 comedy The High Cost of Loving.

Her early TV career included appearances on Johnny Staccato, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Islanders, and Bonanza. She notably played Adrienne Van Leyden on the primetime soap Peyton Place in 1967. Rowlands received two Emmys for Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, including one for playing First Lady Betty Ford in The Betty Ford Story. She won her third and final Primetime Emmy in 2003 for her performance in Hysterical Blindness opposite Uma Thurman and Juliette Lewis.

Rowlands and Cassavetes collaborated on 10 films together over the course of their careers, starting with A Child Is Waiting in 1963. For her performances in films A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria, which Cassavetes wrote and directed, Rowlands earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. Their final film together was Love Streams in 1984. She accepted an Honorary Academy Award in 2016.

She received critical acclaim for her performance in Woody Allen’s 1988 film Another Woman and starred in movies like Hope Floats, Something to Talk About, and more in the 1990s. One of her most beloved film roles is the older version of Rachel McAdams’ Allie Calhoun in the 2004 film The Notebook, directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes.

After The Notebook, Rowlands starred in films like The Skeleton Key and Yellow. She starred in the 2007 film Broken English, the feature directorial debut of her daughter, Zoe Cassavetes. Rowlands earned Golden Globe nominations for her performances in the 2007 TV movie What If God Were the Sun? and a 2009 episode of Monk. Her last TV role was a guest-starring spot in an 2010 episode of NCIS. Her final film role was in the 2014 movie Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks with Cheyenne Jackson.

Rowlands and Cassavetes were married until his death in 1989. Rowlands married Robert Forrest in 2012. Rowlands is survived by her three children: Nick, Zoe, and Alexandra Cassavetes.