Gena Rowlands, whose groundbreaking, fearless performance in “A Woman Under the Influence” inspired a generation and who starred in many other John Cassavetes films as well as the romance “The Notebook,” died Wednesday at her home in Indian Wells, Calif. She was 94.
Gena Rowlands dies at 94
Her death was confirmed by the office of her son's agent. In June, Nick Cassavetes, who directed his mother in "The Notebook," shared that the three-time Emmy winner and two-time Oscar nominee had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Rowlands' role as Mabel Longhetti in the 1974 drama “A Woman Under the Influence,” written for her and directed by her husband John Cassavetes, earned the actor the first of two Academy Award nominations. The other nomination was for “Gloria” (1980), also directed by her husband. In November 2015, she received an honorary Academy Award at the annual Governors Awards in recognition of her legendary career.
“Working that long? I didn’t even think I’d live that long,” she confessed to Variety ahead of the event, with a booming, throaty laugh she instantly recognized from “A Woman Under the Influence,” as well as “Faces,” “Opening Night” and other Cassavetes-directed dramas.
