Gena Rowlands Has Alzheimer’s Like The Character She Played in ‘The Notebook’ Decades Ago
Gena Rowlands has Alzheimer’s, her son, director Nick Cassavetes, revealed in an interview about the 20th anniversary of their film The Notebook. The Oscar-nominated actress, 94, captivated the hearts of audience members and critics alike in 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence, written and directed by Rowlands’ husband John Cassavetes. A new generation of movie-goers fell in love with the actress when she starred in The Notebook, based on Nicholas Sparks’s best-selling novel of the same name.
In a tragic twist of irony, Rowlands’ character in the movie also had dementia.
“She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy—we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”
Nick Cassavetes got candid with Entertainment Weekly about his mother’s condition. “I got my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer’s and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she’s had Alzheimer’s,” the acclaimed director said. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy—we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”
Critics praised Rowlands’ portrayal of Allie. Critic Jessica Winter of The Village Voice took issue with the film—but not with Rowlands’ performance. In her review, she praised Rowlands for “locating the terror and desolation wrought by the cruel betrayals of a failing mind.”
Sadly, before she even took her acclaimed role in The Notebook, Rowlands was no stranger to the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s. Rowlands’ mother also experienced Alzheimer’s. “I went through that with my mother, and if Nick hadn’t directed the film, I don’t think I would have gone for it—it’s just too hard,” the actress said in a 2004 interview with O magazine.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Cassavetes and Rowlands for further comment.
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Originally published June 28, 2024
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