Famed Actress Gena Rowlands dies at age 94

The show business world is mourning the loss of a beloved star whose later life imitated art to a tragic degree.

Actress Gena Rowlands, perhaps best known for her performances in A Woman Under the Influence and The Notebook, died at the age of 94 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, as Variety reports.

Acting legend passes away

Rowlands died at her Indian Wells, California, home on Wednesday, and her passing was confirmed by the agent representing her son, famed director Nick Cassavetes.

The death marks the end of a life filled with acclaim that included three Emmy Awards and two Oscar nominations for memorable performances on the stage as well as on small and large screens alike.

The actress's breakthrough role for many came when she portrayed Mabel Longhetti in A Woman Under the Influence, a drama written specifically for her and directed by her husband, a Hollywood legend in his own right, John Cassavetes.

Her performance earned her the first of her Academy Award nominations, with the second one coming for her role in 1980's Gloria.

Capping a truly remarkable career, an honorary Oscar was presented to Rowlands at the Governors Awards in November of 2015, cementing her place in cinema history.

Poignant twist of fate

In June, Nick Cassavetes revealed that his mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, a sad turn of events that seemed to mirror the experience of her character in The Notebook, an aging woman who also struggled with her memory, as ABC News reported.

Having directed his mother in the beloved film, Cassavetes remarked on the irony of the situation in an interview with Entertainment Weekly at the time of the sad revelation.

“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.

Remarking on the unfortunate parallels, he noted of his mother, “She's in full dementia. And it's so crazy -- we lived it, she acted it, and now it's on us.”

Tributes pour in

As The Wrap reports, news of Rowlands' passing unleashed a deluge of praise and warm remembrances from those who worked with the late star as well as those who simply admired her voluminous body of work.

Michael Rapaport declared Rowlands a “game changing actress” who was also “gorgeous and gritty,” and writer Saverio Guerra was similarly in awe, musing that she was his “favorite actress of all time” and adding that there would “never be another, don't even try to convince me.”

In addition to the millions of fans who will not only mourn her loss but also celebrate the legacy she leaves behind, Rowlands is survived by her children, Nick, Zoe, and Alexandra, numerous grandchildren, and second husband Robert Forrest.