On the evening of August 14, actress Gena Rowlands died from complications of Alzheimers disease at her home in Indian Wells, California. She was 94.
The word “Hollywood Royalty” has lost most of its meaning in the Influencer Age, and it’s used to describe everyone from Martin Scorsese to Kim Kardashian. Rowlands is one of the last true Hollywood legends, and her legacy in film will be remembered as long as moving pictures exist as a medium.
Rowlands was an amazing actress in her own right, garnering four Emmys and two Golden Globes in a career that spanned from 1949 to 2014. She often worked with her director and occasional actor husband, John Cassavetes, collaborating on 10 films together before he passed in 1989.
The Cassavetes films Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence both garnered Rowlands an Academy Award nomination. Rowlands finally won an Honorary Academy Award in 2015, which was presented to her by her son, actor Nick Cassavetes. Other fantastic Rowlands performances include the romantic comedy Minnie and Moskowitz, the psychological drama Opening Night, and the comedy adventure Tempest.
Talk about range.
Aside from staring in memorable films, Rowlands was a mainstay of television going all the way back to the ’50s. Rowlands guest-starred in shows including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Peyton Place, Columbo, Numb3rs, Monk, and NCIS, just to name a few. Her performances in the television movies The Betty Ford Story, Face of a Stranger, and Hysterical Blindness each garnered her a Primetime Emmy Award.
Since the tragic news broke last night, film fans across the social media sphere have been sharing clips of her performances and personal stories from her fellow actors, including a heart-rendering one by Peter Faulk.
For the uninitiated, we recommend watching her Academy Award nominated performances, the intense drama A Woman Under the Influence and the captivating neo-noir Gloria. Her stage presence and talents will be sorely missed.
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