The Notebook star Gena Rowlands dies at 94 after suffering with Alzheimer’s disease

Star of The Notebook - Gena Rowlands - has died at the age of 94. Earlier this year it was revealed the actor, who was married to director John Cassavetes, was living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Her son, filmmaker Nick Cassavetes, who directed her in The Notebook, broke news of her death, which comes some three decades after her husband, who passed away in 1989. 

The husband-and-wife team - who met at the American School of Dramatic Arts and married four months later - were known for movies featuring the stories of working-class people striving to succeed, including films like A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria and Faces.

Rowlands made 10 films with her husband, including Minnie and Moskowitz in 1971, Opening Night in 1977 and Love Streams in 1984. She earned Oscar nominations for her performances in 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence, and Gloria in 1980, about a woman who helps a young boy escape the mob.

John died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1989, and Rowlands returned to acting to assuage her grief. Between assignments, she sometimes attended film festivals and societies for Cassavetes screenings.

“I want everyone to see his films,” she said at the San Sebastian Festival in 1992. “John was one of a kind, the most totally fearless person I’ve ever known. He had a very specific view of life and the individuality of people.”

In 2015, she spoke about her husband’s style, saying: “He had a particular sympathetic interest in women and their problems in society, how they were treated and how they solved and overcame what they needed to, so all his movies have some interesting women, and you don’t need many.”

As well as the Oscar nominations, Rowlands won three Primetime Emmy Awards, one Daytime Emmy and two Golden Globes. She was also awarded an honorary Academy Award in 2015 in recognition of her work and legacy in Hollywood.

Collecting the honour, she said: “You know what’s wonderful about being an actress? You don’t just live one life. You live many lives.”

A new generation was introduced to Rowlands in her son’s blockbuster The Notebook, in which she played a woman whose memory is ravaged, looking back on a romance for the ages. Her younger self was portrayed by Rachel McAdams.

She also appeared in Nick Cassavetes’ Unhook the Stars in 1996.

In addition to Nick, she and Cassavetes had two daughters, Alexandra and Zoe, who are also pursued acting careers.