Gena Rowlands, the iconic actress, passed away at her residence in Indian Wells, California, on Wednesday, August 14. TMZ reports that the cause of death has not been disclosed. Her son, Nick Cassavetes, confirmed her passing through his agent’s office to PEOPLE magazine.

Rowlands was born in June 1930 in Cambria, Wisconsin. She started acting in the 1950s and made her Broadway debut in The Seven Year Itch.

The famous actress was married to John Cassavetes from 1954 until he passed away on February 3, 1989, at the age of 59 due to complications of cirrhosis. During their marriage and acting careers, the couple worked together on various film projects. They had three children.

Rowlands had a successful acting career, earning Oscar nominations for her roles in iconic films such as “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974) and “Gloria” (1980). She also won an Emmy for her role in the 1987 TV film “The Betty Ford Story,” portraying First Lady Betty Ford. Later in her career, she played an older version of Rachel McAdams’ character Allie in “The Notebook,” a role that surprised her with its success.

“I didn’t think it would have that kind of impact,” she said. “I think it was such a big hit because it was about the realization that love can last your whole life. You don’t see it depicted that way a lot.”

“In most films, you don’t get to see a story like that go from the beginning to the end with the possibility that love can be perhaps eternal.”

When Rowland’s son Nick revealed that his mom had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, he told Entertainment Weekly. it was “crazy” that in The Notebook his mother had played a character with the same disease.

“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 explained. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”

Rowlands is survived by her husband, retired businessman Robert Forrest, whom she married in 2012, three children, and five grandchildren.

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Photo: Courtesy Everette Collection