Gena Rowlands Biography

Gena Rowlands Best known by youthful movie-going audiences for her role in the tear-jerker romance The Notebook, young fans may be surprised to learn Gena Rowlands actually had a long, varied, and successful career before she co-starred in this hit success.Virginia Cathryn Rowlands, known popularly as Gena Rowlands, was born June 19, 1930, in Madison, Wisconsin. She was subsequently raised in Cambria, Wisconsin. Her father was state legislator Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands, and her mother was Mary Allen Neal, a housewife hailing from Arkansas. The family moved several times to follow her father's career opportunities, but Rowlands ended up back in Wisconsin to pursue her secondary education. Attending the University of Wisconsin for four years (from 1947 to 1950), Rowlands extended her schooling in order to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.Like many actors before her, Rowlands began her career on stage. Beginning as an understudy, it didn t take long to make her transition to lead in the Broadway production of The Seven Year Itch. Her television debut, however, came in 1955 with the short-lived series Top Secret. For the entirety of 1955, Rowlands found steady work through a variety of one or two-episode appearances on different television series.Her first major break came in 1958 with the lighthearted comedy The High Cost of Loving opposite director Jos Ferrer. Her next film role didn t come until 1962, prompting her to return to constant television work for four years. This eventual role was that of Jerry Bondi in the film Lonely Are the Brave, with Kirk Douglas, Walter Matthau, and Carroll O Connor. In the same year, she also appeared beside Rock Hudson and Burl Ives in The Spiral Road.Many of her subsequent roles were collaborations with writer/director husband John Cassavetes. Some highlights include A Child is Waiting, with Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland; Faces; and of course her Oscar nominated turns in A Woman Under the Influence, opposite Peter Falk, as well as Gloria.In 1985, Rowlands earned her first Emmy nomination for her work in An Early Frost with Ben Gazzara, Aidan Quinn, and Bill Paxton. She earned her first Emmy win the following year for her stirring and powerful portrayal of an alcoholic in The Betty Ford Story. Rowlands would go on to win two more Emmys for Face of a Stranger, with Tyne Daly, Cynthia Nixon, and Jeff Probst; and Hysterical Blindness, with leads Uma Thurman and Juliette Lewis. She earned another two Emmy nominations in 2000 and 2001 for The Color of Love: Jacey's Story and Wild Iris, respectively. In 2003 Rowlands was honored with a Daytime Emmy for her work in The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie, which also featured James Caan.Rowlands also lent her talents to several all-star ensemble casts such as her work in Playing by Heart. Other notable actors included Angelina Jolie, Dennis Quaid, Patricia Clarkson, Sean Connery, Gillian Anderson, Madeleine Stowe, Anthony Edwards, Ellen Burstyn, and Jay Mohr.In the tradition of teaming up with her husband, Rowlands also appeared in several of Nick Cassavetes films. (Nick is one of Rowland's four children.) These films included Unhook the Stars, with Marisa Tomei and Gerard Depardieu; She's So Lovely, with Robin Wright Penn, James Gandolfini, Sean Penn, and John Travolta; and of course, The Notebook, with James Garner, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Joan Allen, and James Marsden.Rowlands remains an influential and respected Hollywood player.She married John Cassavetes on April 9, 1954. They had four children before divorcing on February 3, 1989.