Gena Rowlands, the acclaimed American actress renowned for her roles in films directed by her late husband, John Cassavetes, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 94, according to U.S. media reports.
Rowlands died peacefully at her home in Indian Wells, California, surrounded by family, as reported by TMZ.
The exact cause of death has not been officially released, but her son, Nick Cassavetes, revealed in June that Rowlands had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for the past five years, according to the New York Times.
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Rowlands appeared in ten films directed by John Cassavetes, and their marriage lasted nearly 35 years until his death in 1989.
Together, they formed a compelling and influential on-screen partnership that spanned three decades, delving into themes of passion and self-destruction amidst alcohol and infidelity.
Her performance in “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974), where she portrayed a housewife’s descent into mental illness, is widely regarded as one of her greatest achievements and earned her the first of two Oscar nominations.
Woody Allen, who cast Rowlands in his 1988 film “Another Woman,” praised her as “incapable of an unreal moment.”
Winona Ryder, who worked with Rowlands in Jim Jarmusch’s 1991 film “Night on Earth,” described her as “so incredible” in a 1992 LA Times interview.
Born on June 19, 1930, in Cambria, Wisconsin, Rowlands came from a cultured middle-class family; her father was a state senator, and her mother was a painter and occasional actress.
She attended New York’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she met Cassavetes in 1953. They married a year later, and their collaboration led to some of her most memorable performances, including “A Woman Under the Influence,” which also earned Cassavetes an Oscar nomination for Best Director.
Rowlands portrayed the troubled housewife Mabel with striking intensity, as her character descends into madness due to the overpowering dominance of her silent, hardworking husband, played by Peter Falk.
After Cassavetes’s death from liver failure in 1989, Rowlands continued her acting career in both film and television, winning four Emmy Awards.
She and Cassavetes had three children, all of whom have worked in film and television. Her son Nick directed her in the 2004 film “The Notebook,” which also starred Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.
In 2012, Rowlands married retired businessman Robert Forrest. She was honored with an honorary Academy Award in 2015, the same year she retired from acting.
