A Woman Under The Influence star Gena Rowlands dies aged 94

Oscar-nominee Gena Rowlands, best-known for her roles in groundbreaking films she collaborated on with her first husband John Cassavetes, has died aged 94.

Her son, Nick Cassavetes, confirmed the news on Wednesday, after revealing earlier this year that his mother had Alzheimer’s disease.

Born in 1930 in Madison, Wisconsin, Rowlands attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1953, where she met John Cassavetes. She made her Browday debut in 1956 in Paddy Chayefsky’s Middle Of The Night.

Although she had a successful career before and after her films with Cassavetes, it’s her groundbreaking roles in Faces (1968), Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), A Woman Under The Influence (1974), Opening Night (1977) and more, that made her career.

She played damaged and yearning women, portraying working-class stivers and small timers, a rarity in American cinema of this period.

Her son introduced a new generation to Rowlands in the blockbuster The Notebook, in which she interpreted a woman with ravaged memories. Her younger self was portrayed by Rachel McAdams.

Over the course of her career, she earned three Primetime Emmy Awards, one Daytime Emmy and two Golden Globe, before being awarded an honorary Academy Award in 2015 for her work and legacy in Hollywood.

Rowlands is survived by three children, Nick, Alexandra and Zoe, as well as her second husband, whom she married in 2012, Robert Forrest.