‘The Notebook’ Star Gena Rowlands Passes Away
Gena Rowlands, known for her role as elderly Allie in “The Notebook,” has passed away at her home at the age of 94.
According to TMZ, Rowlands died on August 14 surrounded by her family, with the cause of death yet to be confirmed. She had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for the past five years. In June, her son, director Nick Cassavetes, revealed her condition in honor of the 20th anniversary of the film’s release. In “The Notebook,” the character Allie also suffers from Alzheimer’s.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nick Cassavetes shared: “I cast my mother as the older Allie and spent time discussing the character’s health issues, aiming to portray her symptoms. In recent years, my mother’s memory had completely deteriorated.”
Gena Rowlands’ mother, actress Lady Rowlands, also struggled with Alzheimer’s. In a 2004 interview, Gena explained that she chose to take on the role of Allie because of her mother. “I had gone through difficult times with my mother. If Nick hadn’t directed the film, I don’t think I would have been able to do it. The role was too challenging,” she said.
Born in 1930, Gena Rowlands was an American actress with a career spanning over seven decades. She won four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and received two Oscar nominations for her performances in A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and Gloria (1980). In 2016, she was honored with an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Rowlands worked on ten films with her first husband, actor and director John Cassavetes, before his death in 1989. They had three children who are all actors and directors: Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe Cassavetes. In 2012, she married businessman Robert Forrest.
Her last role was in the short film Unfortunate Circumstances (2017). Besides The Notebook, Rowlands made memorable appearances in Hope Floats, The Skeleton Key, Paris, I Love You, and Something to Talk About. According to IMDb, she participated in 106 projects throughout her career.
The Notebook is set in a serene Southern American town in the 1940s. Allie (Rachel McAdams) is a beautiful young woman from a wealthy family who spends the summer with her family. Noah (Ryan Gosling) is a poor young man working at a sawmill. Noah falls in love with Allie at first sight and tries various ways to impress her. From annoyance to fascination and eventually tenderness, Allie responds to his affection. The story explores their challenges, including class differences, family opposition, the arrival of a third party, and Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2010, Allie and Noah were named among “The 100 Most Iconic Characters of the Past 20 Years” by Entertainment Weekly. The magazine also listed The Notebook as one of the 25 most romantic films of all time. Us Weekly included it in their list of the most romantic movies ever. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams fell for each other on set, though they broke up in 2008 after several reconciliations.
