‘The Notebook’ star Gena Rowlands, 94, has Alzheimer’s: ‘She’s in full dementia,’ son Nick Cassavetes says
nypost.comAlzheimer’s disease. Her son Nick Cassavetes, who directed the beloved 2004 rom-com, revealed his mom’s diagnosis to Entertainment Weekly on Tuesday.
Rowlands’ character in the film had dementia. She played the older version of Rachel McAdams’ Allie.“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,” said Cassavetes, 65.“She’s in full dementia.
And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it and now it’s on us,” he added.Rowlands’ mother and Cassavetes’ grandmother, actress Lady Rowlands, also had Alzheimer’s.
Rowlands starred in “The Notebook” with McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner, James Marsden and Kevin Connolly. The movie is based on Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 novel.
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