'The Notebook' star Gena Rowlands diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, her son says
Gena Rowlands, who played the old Allie in the romantic film The Notebook, has been living with Alzheimer’s disease for the last five years, her son revealed.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gena’s son and the film’s director Nick Cassavetes reflected on the film's success 20 years after it premiered.
Nick noted how directing his mom, who suffered from dementia in the film, was a “bittersweet” memory now that his mom has been living with Alzheimer’s for five years now.
"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," he said.
"She's in full dementia. And it's so crazy—we lived it, she acted it, and now it's on us,” he added.
Gena played the older version of Rachel McAdams’ Allie in the cult classic film. In the movie, she was living in the nursing home with James Garner who played the older version of Ryan Gosling’s Noah after being diagnosed with dementia.
In Gena’s interview with O Magazine in 2004, she shared that she channeled her mother, actress Lady Rowlands, who also had Alzheimer’s disease for her role as old Allie.
“This last one — The Notebook, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks — was particularly hard because I play a character who has Alzheimer’s,” Gena said.
She added, “I went through that with my mother, and if Nick hadn’t directed the film, I don’t think I would have gone for it — it’s just too hard. It was a tough but wonderful movie.”
The Notebook grossed $117 million at the worldwide box office. It remains one of the most popular romance films of the 2000s.
Gena’s last project was the 2014 comedy film Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks where she co-starred with Cheyenne Jackson.