Gena Rowlands, the wife and muse of director John Cassavetes, passed away on Wednesday (August 14) at the age of 94.
Rowlands died surrounded by family members at her home in Indian Wells, California, according to TMZ. A representative for her son, writer-director Nick Cassavetes, confirmed her death. She had been battling Alzheimer’s since 2019.
The American film, theater, and television actress was awarded 2 Golden Globes and 4 Emmy Awards and became known for her participation in her husband’s films.
Gena Rowlands was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1930. Her parents were Mary Ellen Neal and Edwin Marwin Rowlands, a banker, member of the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, and member of the Progressive Party of Wisconsin. She also had a brother, David.
In the early 1950s, Rowlands participated in theatrical productions at the Provincetown Playhouse. She made her Broadway debut in George Axelrod’s play The Seven Year Itch and then toured with the cast across the U.S.
Rowlands made her film debut in 1958 with The High Cost of Loving, and after several supporting roles in various films, she was first directed by her husband John Cassavetes in 1963 in the film A Child is Waiting. She gained worldwide recognition for Cassavetes’ film Faces in 1968, and their collaboration continued with films such as Machine Gun McCain (1969), Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), A Woman Under the Influence (1974) (for which she won critics’ awards, a Golden Globe, and her first nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress, losing to Ellen Burstyn), Two-Minute Warning (1976), Opening Night (1977), Gloria (1980) (for which she received her second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, losing to Sissy Spacek), Tempest (1982) (based on the play by William Shakespeare and filmed in Greece, directed by Paul Mazursky), and Love Streams (1984), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Gena Rowlands was married to Greek-American director, actor, and screenwriter John Cassavetes from 1954 until his death in 1989. They had three children, all of whom followed in their parents’ footsteps in the film industry.
