Award-Winning Actor Gena Rowlands of 'The Notebook' and 'The Skeleton Key' Dies at 94

On Aug. 14, 2024, Gena Rowlands died in her home. She was 94 years old. A cause of death wasn't immediately released following the news of her passing, but her son did reveal in June 2024 that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a few years prior to that. You likely know Rowlands from her memorable role as the older version of Rachael McAdams's character Allie in The Notebook. However, Rowlands leaves behind a Hollywood legacy full of other movie roles and smaller, more niche ones that other longtime actors have commended her for.

Rowlands's son, Nick Cassavetes, who also directed The Notebook, shared details with Entertainment Weekly of his mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis in June 2024. At the time, he shared that "she's in full dementia," and he recognized the twist of irony that he had cast his mother to play a fictional character who suffered from dementia and that, at the time, the family was suddenly deep in dealing with it themselves.

When the news of Rowlands's death was released, there was no cause of death immediately given. However, she had been battling Alzheimer's disease for years leading up to it. And that could have contributed greatly to her overall health.

According to UCLA Health, there are complications that affect the body from Alzheimer's that can lead to other sicknesses and then death. Aspiration pneumonia is one of the most common effects of Alzheimer's that can lead to death. This is because individuals with Alzheimer's eventually have difficulty swallowing, and they can inhale particles and bacteria that are taken to the lungs.

Alzheimer's disease wasn't new to Rowlands at the time of her diagnosis. In 2004, she shared with O magazine that her mother had also battled Alzheimer's and that her role in The Notebook, a movie which her son directed, wasn't something she would have normally gone for because it would be "too hard." But, she added at the time, "It was a tough but wonderful movie." Rowlands won two Golden Globes and three Primetime Emmy Awards throughout the course of her decades-long career.

Rowlands married filmmaker John Cassavetes in 1954, and they remained married until his death in 1989. She later married a man by the name of Robert Forrest in 2012. She had three children with her first husband -— Nick Cassavetes, Alexandra Cassavetes, and Zoe Cassavetes. All three of Rowlands's adult children are filmmakers like their late father and they remain in the entertainment business, much like Rowlands did for years leading up to her Alzheimer's diagnosis and eventually death.

Rowlands has five grandchildren in total from Alexandra and Nick, who have two and three children, respectively. Rowlands is survived by her three children and her husband.