Beloved actor Gena Rowlands has died at the age of 94, it has been confirmed. The star – best known for films like A Woman Under The Influence and Gloria, directed by her husband John Cassavetes – was renowned for her raw and uncompromising performances, making an indelible impact on cinema often while working outside of the Hollywood studio system. Rowlands passed away at home, following a previous diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
While Rowlands made her big-screen debut in 1958’s The High Cost Of Loving, her cinematic collaborations with Cassavetes as director began in 1963 with A Child Is Waiting – and continued through the likes of 1968’s Faces, 1971’s Minnie And Moskowitz, 1974’s A Woman Under The Influence, 1977’s Opening Night, 1980’s Gloria, and 1984’s Love Streams. Their work together marked early examples of independent cinema. A Woman Under The Influence – for which Rowlands won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar – was financed by funds raised from remortgaging their home, as well as contributions from friends and family, and was filmed in a real residential house rather than on a film set. Rowlands and Cassavetes also acted together in the likes of 1969’s Machine Gun McCain and 1976’s Two-Minute Warning, and had three children together.
Elsewhere in her career, Rowlands starred for William Friedkin in 1978’s The Brink’s Job, for Paul Schrader in 1987’s Light Of Day, for Terence Davies in 1995’s The Neon Bible, and she led Woody Allen’s 1988 film Another Woman. Most notably, Rowlands’ latter career saw her play the role of the older Allie Calhoun – played in her younger incarnation by Rachel McAdams – in The Notebook, directed by her son Nick Cassavetes. She starred in ‘00s horror-thrillers Taking Lives and The Skeleton Key, lent her voice to the English dub of Persepolis, and gave her final screen performance in 2014’s Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks, before retiring in 2015.
Hailed as one of the greatest actors of all time, Rowlands legacy stands tall, and her work is set to be discovered by new generations for many years to come. Our thoughts are with her friends and family.