Cassavetes muse US actress Gena Rowlands dead at the age of 94

Gena Rowlands made dozens of films, many of them directed by her husband John Cassavetes. Her son Nick brought her in front of the camera for "Like a Single Day" in 2004. Now the star has died.

The US actress Gena Rowlands, known from films such as "A Woman Under the Influence" and "Gloria", has died. The artist agency WME, which represents Rowlands' son Nick Cassavetes, confirmed the actress' death to the German Press Agency. She died on Wednesday in Indian Wells, Southern California, according to US media reports. Rowlands was 94 years old.

Director Nick Cassavetes (65) announced in June that his mother had been suffering from Alzheimer's for several years. He had brought Rowlands in front of the camera in 2004 for the romantic drama "Like a Single Day" ("The Notebook"). In the bestselling film adaptation, she played a woman suffering from Alzheimer's in a nursing home.

Rowlands has appeared in dozens of films since the 1960s, many of them directed by her husband John Cassavetes. She was married to the director from 1954 until his death in 1989. The couple had three children who followed them into the film business.

Nominated for two Oscars

She was nominated for an Oscar for her roles in the successful films "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974) and "Gloria" (1980), both directed by John Cassavetes, but came away empty-handed in both cases. In 2015, the Film Academy paid tribute to the then 85-year-old actress with an honorary Oscar for her life's work.