Gena Rowlands, one of the last remaining icons of Hollywood, has passed away at 94.

A spokesperson for her son, filmmaker Nick Cassavetes, confirmed Rowlands’ passing to YSL News on Wednesday, though no additional information was provided.

TMZ was the first outlet to break the news. They report that Rowlands died peacefully in the presence of family at her home in Indian Wells, California.

She is survived by her children, actors Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe Cassavetes. Rowlands was married to the late director Nick Cassavetes, a pioneer of independent cinema, for many years until his death in 1989.

In June, Nick shared with Entertainment Weekly that his mother was battling dementia, similar to the storyline of her character in the 2004 film “The Notebook,” where she portrayed an older Allie, originally played by Rachel McAdams, alongside Ryan Gosling.

“I convinced my mom to play older Allie, and we focused on discussing Alzheimer’s to ensure authenticity. Now, for the past five years, she has been living with Alzheimer’s,” Cassavetes told Entertainment Weekly. “She is in full dementia.”

“It’s surreal,” he continued. “We experienced it, she performed it, and now it’s our reality.”

Rowlands Received Golden Globe, Emmy Awards, and an Honorary Oscar

During her illustrious 50-year career, Rowlands appeared in over 40 films and numerous television series. Her most renowned performance was in “A Woman Under the Influence” (1974), where she played a troubled housewife under the direction of her husband, Nick Cassavetes.

This role earned Rowlands a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, though she ultimately lost to Ellen Burstyn for her role in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”

Throughout their marriage from 1954 until his death, Rowlands starred in 10 films directed by Cassavetes.

Rowlands won two Golden Globes, including one for her role in the 1987 TV movie “The Betty Ford Story,” about the life of the former First Lady. In total, she garnered four Emmy Awards for her performances in various miniseries and films.

She received two Academy Award nominations, the second being for 1980’s “Gloria,” another film directed by Cassavetes. In recognition of her career, Rowlands received an honorary Oscar in 2015. During her acceptance speech, she expressed gratitude to her late husband and to acting for providing her with a fulfilling life.

“The incredible part of being an actress is that you do not just experience your own life; you live many lives,” she shared with the audience.

“For that,” she added in remarks that resonate even today amid ongoing strikes in Hollywood, “we owe thanks to the writers, as they begin with nothing but a blank page and create the characters and narratives that we actors then bring to life.”

Rowlands’ Journey Included Broadway, Film, and Television

Rowlands was raised in Cambria, Wisconsin, the daughter of a homemaker and an actress mother alongside a father who was involved in politics. As a young girl, she was an avid reader.

In a brief film she created for the Academy in 2015 titled “What Acting Means to Me,” Rowlands mentioned that “acting is very much akin to reading a book. Through reading, I realized that as an actor, one can become numerous characters and engage in various experiences, which intrigued me deeply.”

Although her family relocated often due to her father’s political career—first to Washington, D.C., then to Minneapolis—Rowlands returned to Wisconsin as a young adult to study at the University of Wisconsin.

After completing her education, Rowlands moved to Broadway where she spent the following decade refining her skills in various productions, including “The Seven Year Itch” and “Middle of the Night.” She also ventured into the emerging medium of television, appearing in a wide range of genres from Westerns to detective series.

Rowlands’ collaboration with Cassavetes began in 1963 with “A Child is Waiting” and ended in 1984 with “Love Streams.” The pair frequently took on more visible roles to fund Cassavetes’ independent projects.

“It was incredibly difficult to secure funding outside of the studio system,” she revealed to The Guardian during a 2001 interview. “We financed all our films by ourselves, except for ‘A Woman Under the Influence,’ which Peter Falk and his wife partially funded.

“When John completed the script, everyone questioned, ‘Why would anyone want to watch a movie about a disturbed middle-aged woman?’” she recalled. “However, we were luckier than many new filmmakers today because we were well-known actors. When funds ran low—which was often—we would pause and each create our own movie.”

Following Cassavetes’ passing, Rowlands continued to perform and occasionally received accolades for her performances. In 2002, she earned another Emmy Award for her work in Mira Nair’s “Hysterical Blindness,” and in 2004, she featured in “The Notebook,” a film directed by her son Nick.

In 2007, Rowlands appeared in “Broken English” alongside Parker Posey; this film was both written and directed by Rowlands’ daughter Zoe.

In the subsequent years, she guest-starred in TV shows like “Monk” and “NCIS,” ultimately announcing her retirement from acting in 2015. Since 2012, she has been married to retired businessman Robert Forrest.

Rowlands honored her idol Bette Davis in her Oscar acceptance speech

Rowlands held a deep admiration for her idol, Bette Davis, with whom she worked in the 1979 film “Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter.” In this film, Rowlands, nearly 50 at the time, portrayed Davis’ daughter.

While delivering her honorary Oscar speech, Rowlands recounted a moment during the film’s production when both she and Davis reviewed footage shot the previous day.

Once the lights came up, Rowlands felt pleased with her performance, but Davis appeared upset, pointing at the cameraman. It turned out that the Hollywood icon was dissatisfied with the orange tint of her lips in the footage.

Davis then called Rowlands over and asked if she had noticed the same issue. Rowlands cleverly deflected by saying she hadn’t been focusing closely enough to notice.

“And Bette stared at me and said, ‘Oh, you weren’t paying attention? Well, you need to start paying attention, because let me remind you, you’re not a young one either,’” Rowlands recounted, eliciting laughter from the audience.