The sun went down on the life of the cinematic great in the serene town of Indian Wells, California, on the afternoon of August 14, 2024. Independent Film Giant and Beloved Star of ‘The Notebook’ Gena Rowlands dies at 94. She was surrounded by her husband, Robert Forrest, and her three children, Nick, Zoe, and Alexandra (Xan), who took care of her and furnished consolation in her last hours.
‘The Notebook’ star Gena Rowlands has passed away at the age of 94. pic.twitter.com/sA5t88Tufe
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 15, 2024
For Rowlands, nearing seven active decades in cinema, she was a force to reckon with, always seen on screen portraying unadulterated emotions and authenticity, celebrated by critics, and always gaining a place in the people’s hearts. She was nominated twice for the most prestigious award, the Academy Award, three for the Primetime Emmy, and once for the Daytime Emmy, while she won two Golden Globe awards. She was honored by the Academy in 2015 for being such a great contributor that she deserved an honorary Oscar.
Gena Rowlands was born to perform. Her artistic path began when she studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and met John Cassavetes. And her marriage in 1954 began one of the most powerful American cinema art duets in the history of cinematography. Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes estranged the profound human relations throughout his movies.
She worked on filmmaking projects alongside her late husband, the director John Cassavetes. The two made it together in movies like “A Woman Under the Influence,” “Gloria,” and “Faces” which was to rattle the boundaries of movies and help etch a tantalizing effect on the industry. But it was a new audience that discovered her in the role of ‘The Notebook’—directed by her son Nick Cassavetes. As Allie, a woman fighting to hold onto her memories, Rowlands melted many hearts and left audiences sobbing into their hankies.
In a poignant twist of fate, Rowlands herself was battling Alzheimer‘s during the last five years of her life. Her son, Nick, earlier this year went on to reveal her fight with the disease. The irony of the real-life experience of the actress perfectly matching her ailing character in ‘The Notebook’ could not have been lost on either her family or fans.
Yet, not everything was going this way in Rowlands’s life. It had its bright career and other clouds; it meant being a good wife and mother. After her first husband, John Cassavetes, died in 1989, she found new love in the person of retired businessman Robert Forrest and married him in 2012. Her family—meaning her children and grandchildren—were a significant part of her life, the brightest one spent toward her sundown.
Throughout her career, Rowlands made many interesting reflections and stories. Often, she spoke almost exclusively about the experience of working with Cassavetes, emphasizing how much he really allowed his actors to be free and thus present performances that seemed really true and natural. She also discredited the myth that the films of Cassavetes were shot in a completely improvised way, noting that while the scripts were elaborately prepared, the way he approached filming made everything look like the act of improvisation was happening right before them.
One of Rowlands’ more famous scenes falls in “A Woman Under the Influence.” Her character gets up at the dinner table after the dinner of spaghetti with friends and family, calling to all to rise. It’s a powerful and heart-wrenching moment that showcases Rowlands’ exceptional talent.
As we bid goodbye to Gena Rowlands, we are definitely going to be missing a great life story. She had the capacity to create characters with sincerity and profundity that touched hearts for generations. Within an industry driven most of the time by the superficial, Rowlands stood as a light in her authenticity and courage, reminding us of the power of cinema to show us mirrors of human experience.
The legacy she leaves behind will stand there to inspire generations to come, ensuring that all the stories she ever told and all the characters she created remain alive in our hearts and minds.
