American actress, Gena Rowlands worked in the TV industry for over seven decades. She is widely recognized for her acting skills and even won the Golden Globes award twice. She is also a four-time Emmy winner. She won Best Actress in the Silver Bear awards. In 2015, Gena was also given an honorary Academy Award appreciating her acting performances. Her most famous acting roles include ‘The Notebook’, and ‘A Woman under the Influence’.

 

Gena Rowlands’ Early Life

Born on June 19, 1930, Gena Rowland was 94 before she, unfortunately, passed away. She was born to parents, Edward Myrwyn Rowlands and Mary Allen Neal. While her mother was a housewife, her father, Edward was a banker and worked for the state, and later on worked for the Department of Agriculture. Her mother, later in her life, became an actress and adopted the stage name, Lady Rowlands.

 

Rowlands went to the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1950. She then attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. It was there that she met her to-be husband, John Cassavetes. The duo then became a power couple in Hollywood.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Rolling Stone (@rollingstone)

Gena and John’s Marriage

Gena met John Cassavetes at the Carnegie Hall at the Academy when she was going in to audition meanwhile John was graduating from the same hall. After only a few months of dating, they married in March 1954. John went on to become a famous and successful director and many of his films featured his wife, the most famous one being ‘Faces’ which was nominated for Oscar thrice. ‘A Woman under the Influence’ is another well-known work of John that starred Rowland. She won her first Best Actress nomination for this role.  

 

The couple had three children, Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe. All three followed their parent’s footsteps in Hollywood and work either as directors or actors. Rowlands and Cassavetes were married for around 35 years before he passed away in 1989 suffering from cirrhosis.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Gena Rowlands (@genarowlands_fans)

A few years after John’s death, Gena married a businessman, Robert Forrest who was a mutual friend of the couple and helped Gena cope after John’s death. They dated for a long time, eventually getting married in 2012. They remained married until Gena’s death.

 

Rowlands’ Career

Rowlands initially started acting in Theatre. She then made her debut in ‘The Seven Year Itch’ which became pretty famous in the early 1950s. In the late 1950s, she took part in the Broadway play titled, ‘Middle of the Night’. She played guest appearances in many TV series like ‘The United States Steel Hour’, ‘Studio One’, and ‘Armstrong Circle Theatre’. In 1959, Rowland and her husband acted in the series, ‘Johnny Staccato’, based on detectives.  

 

A few years later, she acted in the TV series, ‘The Islanders’. Rowlands then made cameo appearances in series like ‘The Lloyd Bridges Show’, another detective show called, ’77 Sunset Strip’, and the medical TV show, ‘Dr. Kildare’.

 

Also Read: Does Actor And Podcaster,Lauren Compton Have A Husband?

 

Rowlands’ first film was ‘The High Cost of Loving’ in 1958. This film paved her path for more in the future. She then took an acting role in the film, ‘Lonely Are the Brave’.

Cassavetes and his wife, Rowlands produced the films together; the most widely known being ‘Machine Gun McCain’ in 1969, ‘Two-Minute Warning’in 1976, and ‘Gloria’ in 1980 in which Rowlands was nominated for Best Actress in The Academy Awards. Out of all the films the duo made together, the most successful was ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ in 1974 which is remembered to this day. Rowlands was also nominated for Best Actress in The Academy Awards for this film which confirms its popularity.

 

In 1985, Rowlands won her first Emmy for playing the character of Betty Ford, former First Lady of the US, in ‘The Betty Ford Story’. Several years later, she played Marian Post in ‘Another Women’. She received extraordinary reviews for her performance in the film and also widely increased people’s admiration for her acting skills.

 

In 2004, she starred in the infamous film, ‘The Notebook’ directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. Her acting was appreciated even more giving her first Daytime Emmy for ‘The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie’. Her most notable last performance was seen in ‘Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks ’ in 2014.

 

In 2015, Rowlands parted ways with acting.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis)

Gena Rowlands’ Death

Earlier in 2024, her son, Nick Cassavetes revealed that her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. After suffering from the disease for more than five years, Rowlands passed away on August 14, 2024, surrounded by her family at her home in California. The news was confirmed by The Washington Post. To this day, she is hailed as one of the greatest actors ever to step foot in Hollywood.

 

Also Read:

• After Going Viral, Fans Have Become Curious About Thomas Ceccon’s Partner
• Blue Light Actor Katherine Devlin Share a Close Bond with Her Boyfriend