Fans of The Notebook are in mourning after the death of one beloved star.
Actress Gena Rowlands has sadly died at the age of 94 at her California home, according to TMZ. It comes not too long after it was revealed by her son Nick Cassavetes that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Gena played the older version of Rachel McAdams’ character Allie in the iconic movie, which released in 2004 and also starred Ryan Gosling. Tragically, the character of Allie has Alzheimer’s, as actress Gena did.
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The Oscar-nominee reportedly died on Wednesday afternoon (August 14) surrounded by her family, including husband Robert Forrest and eldest daughter Alexandra Cassavetes. No cause of death has yet been revealed.
(Image: Getty Images)
In June 2024, son Nick told Entertainment Weekly that his mother had been living with Alzheimer’s for five years and was now “in full dementia”.
He said: “I got my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer’s and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she’s had Alzheimer’s.
“She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy – we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”
(Image: Bettmann Archive)
The Notebook tells the love story of a working-class man and a wealthy woman. They fall in love despite their very different circumstances.
It flicks between the present day where the man Noah, disguised as Duke, tells Allie their love story in a nurshing home, and their youth, when they fell in love. Noah reads Allie their love story during the early stages of her Alzheimer’s battle to try and help her remember him.
Gena was last active in the 2014 movie Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. Throughout her career she was nominated for two Oscars, while also winning a number of Emmys, Golden Globes and other accolades.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
