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She became world famous with films such as “Woman Under the Influence” and “Gloria, the Gangster’s Wife”. Now Gena Rowlands has died in California.
Indian Wells – Millions of viewers felt for her when she played Alzheimer’s patient Allie Calhoun alongside Ryan Gosling and James Garner in The Notebook. As it later turned out, she herself was affected by it. On Wednesday, Gena Rowlands, wife of director John Cassavettes, died surrounded by her family. The Hollywood portal Deadline The cause of death was not disclosed.
Gena Rowlands: Twice nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress
Gena Rowlands’ roles in “A Woman Under the Influence” in 1974 and “Gloria, the Gangster’s Wife” in 1980 earned her two Oscar nominations. Although she didn’t take home the trophy, she did win four Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes in her career.
Gena Rowlands leaves her hand and foot cremation at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California on December 5, 2014. © IMAGO/Hahn Lionel/ABACA
Independent filmmaker John Cassavettes and wife Gena Rowlands: Mortgage on house instead of Hollywood
Rowlands, along with her husband, director John Cassavettes, embodied the spirit of independent film: When they ran out of money to produce “A Woman Under the Influence,” the two simply took out a mortgage on their house and borrowed money from family and friends, according to Deadline. Instead of buying an expensive set in a studio, they filmed in an actual house. “We shot half of our films in the house,” Rowlands is quoted as saying.
Gena Rowlands had Alzheimer’s – like one of her characters
Rowlands has also appeared in films by other greats of independent cinema, such as “Night on Earth” by Jim Jarmusch, in whose new film the Luxembourgish-German actress Vicky Krieps also plays. A younger audience will probably know Gena Rowlands from the horror film “The Key” from 2005, in which she played the shady Violet Devereaux. In 2014 she retired from the film business – probably also because of her Alzheimer’s disease, which June this year became public.
Bruce Willis’ dementia recently made headlines. Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis said on the US broadcaster ABC’s “Today Show” that she had made it her mission to inform people about the disease. (BeBau)
