‘The Notebook’ star Gena Rowlands’ Alzheimer’s diagnosis revealed on movie’s 20th anniversary

Gena Rowlands, the 94-year-old Golden Globe winner who portrayed an older version of Rachel McAdam’s character, Allie, in the 2004 film “The Notebook,” has been living with Alzheimer’s disease for the past five years. 

Nick Cassavetes, the director of the movie and Rowlands’ son, revealed his mother’s diagnosis while describing the full circle moment for the 20th anniversary of the film.

“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,” Cassavetes told Entertainment Weekly of Rowlands’ character, who also had dementia. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”

When reached by Fox News Digital, a representative for Cassavetes had no further comment. 

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According to the Mayo Clinic, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia — a gradual decline in memory, thinking, behavior and social skills. These changes affect a person’s ability to function.

In 2004, Rowlands — whose mother, actress Lady Rowlands, also suffered from the disease — explained why playing Allie was “particularly hard.”

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“This last one — ‘The Notebook,’ based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks — was particularly hard because I play a character who has Alzheimer’s,” she told O magazine. “I went through that with my mother, and if Nick hadn’t directed the film, I don’t think I would have gone for it — it’s just too hard. It was a tough but wonderful movie.”

Rowlands’ son, Nick Cassavetes, directed the film.  (The Everett Collection)

Recalling a sweet memory from their days filming on set, Cassavetes said his mother was truly gifted in that she handled the role with grace. 

After studio executives told Cassavetes that they needed to see more tears from Rowlands when her character finally recognizes her longtime love, Noah (James Garner), the director said his mother took the notes to heart. 

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“She said, ‘Let me get this straight. We’re reshooting because of my performance?'” he recalled. 

Rowlands has been living with Alzheimer’s disease for five years.  (Getty Images)

“We go to reshoots, and now it’s one of those things where mama’s pissed, and I had asked her, ‘Can you do it, Mom?’ She goes, ‘I can do anything,'” he said. “I promise you, on my father’s life, this is true: Teardrops came flying out of her eyes when she saw [Garner], and she burst into tears. And I was like, OK, well, we got that… It’s the one time I was in trouble on set.”

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