Independent Film Icon Gena Rowlands Dies

She was born in Wisconsin in June 1930 and moved to New York City after graduating from college. In the big city, he began to pursue his dream, studying at the North American Academy of Dramatic Arts. “I always wanted to be an actress; I read a lot when I was little, and that opened my mind to other things,” she told The New York Times in 2016. And it was at the gym that she met the man who would become her husband, John Cassavetes, then a fellow student. They began making films in the late 1950s, making such works as Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, and Gloria (the latter two earned him Oscar nominations). Over four decades, they made 10 films together and had three children: Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe, all directors. John died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1989. Gena continued to ease the pain and dedicated herself to promoting her husband’s work at special screenings and film festivals around the world.

The actress’s career also includes films such as Fuga Sem Rumo, Labirinto de Paixões, Amor e Mentiras and Pânico no Estádio. Among other accolades, she has received three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes. In 2015, he was awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition of his work and legacy in Hollywood. Younger generations know Rowlands mainly for his son Nick’s role in the successful film The Notebook (2004). In recent years, he has made several appearances in film and television. Her last work was Arthur Allan Seidelman’s Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, which premiered in theaters in 2014. That same year, she remarried to retired businessman Robert Forrest. They were together until Rowlands’ death.