What was Gena Rowlands’ cause of death?

Gena Rowlands, one of the great actors of her generation and a pioneer of independent filmmaking alongside her first husband John Cassavetes, died, aged 94 on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

Rowlands was famous for her portrayal of complex, troubled women in Cassavetes’ films, which they funded together in a bid to break free from the demands and artistic shortcomings of Hollywood studios. To a younger audience, the late actress is likely best known for playing an older version of Rachel McAdams‘ character in The Notebook, but her greatest performance is largely considered to be her Oscar-nominated turn in 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence, where she played a woman troubled by the cages of the modern housewife role.

Another Cassavetes picture, 1980’s Gloria, brought Rowlands her second Best Actress Oscar nomination, but she only took the golden statuette home in 2015 when she was given an Honorary Academy Award for her brilliant career. She dedicated her speech to one of her idols, Bette Davis, with whom she shared the screen in the 1979 made-for-TV film Strangers. Rowlands’ later television roles would earn her eight Emmy nods and three wins. She also won two Golden Globes, from eight nominations. Her last role was as a retired woman looking for dance classes in 2014’s Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks.

How did Gena Rowlands die?

Gena Rowlands’ direct cause of death isn’t known, but in June 2024 her son and The Notebook director, Nick Cassavetes, said, on the occasion of the film’s 20th anniversary, that his mom, much like her character, had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for five years and was in “full dementia.” She passed away at her home in Indian Wells, California surrounded by her close family.

Rowlands’ mother and fellow actor, Lady Rowlands, also struggled with the disease which made the Oscar nominee nervous about taking on the role of Allie in the Nicholas Sparks silver screen adaptation. She told O Magazine at the time, “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. It was a tough but wonderful movie.”

Rowlands is survived by her three children with Jonh Cassavetes, all actor-directors, Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe, her grandchildren, and her second husband Robert Forrest, whom she married in 2012.