The Notebook star Gena Rowlands, 93, 'in full dementia' after Alzheimer's diagnosis

Gena Rowlands’ son confirmed that she has Alzheimer’s (Picture: ABC / New Line Cinema)

Legendary actress, and star of the Notebook, Gena Rowlands has Alzheimer’s disease.

The 93-year-old is most known for her efforts as the older version of Allie in the beloved 2004 flick, who battled dementia.

Her son, Nick Cassavetes, who directed the romantic drama, shared the news of her condition in a new interview, to discuss the movie’s legacy.

‘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 told Entertainment Weekly.

‘She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy – we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.’

Reflecting on his pride over the Notebook – which is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks and also starred Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams – Nick vowed that it ‘holds up pretty good’ 20 years after it was released.

‘It’s always a shock to hear that as much time has gone by as it has, but it makes sense. I’m just happy that it exists.

‘It seems to have worked and I’m very proud of it.’

While Rachel played the younger Allie in the movie, Gena starred as the present day character, who was seen being read to in a nursing home by Duke – aka the older Noah (James Garner).

As he recounted their love affair from a notebook she had kept herself, it emerged that she had been suffering from dementia.

In devastatingly heartbreaking scenesat the end of the movie, they died in their sleep, in each other’s arms.

It was a poignant role for Gena as, not only was she directed by her son, her mother – fellow actress Lady Rowlands – also suffered from the condition.

Discussing the added layer of her portrayal in an interview with O Magazine, she previously said in 2004: ‘This last one – The Notebook, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks – was particularly hard because I play a character who has Alzheimer’s.

‘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.’

Aside from the Notebook, Gena has commanded a career in Hollywood spanning seven decades, having appeared in 1988’s Another Woman, and Opening Night, in 1977.

Thanks to her stellar performances in Gloria, in 1980, and A Woman Under the Influence, in 1974, she earned two best actress Oscar nominations – she was eventually awarded an honorary Academy Award in 2015.

Acting has been largely a family affair for Gena – as well as being directed by son Nick, she also shared the screen with late husband John Cassavetes in many projects before his death in 1989, including A Child Is Waiting, Faces and Love Streams.

She has also taken home three Emmy awards following roles in Face of a Stranger, Hysterical Blindness and the Betty Ford Story, while she nabbed two Golden Globes for the latter, as well as A Woman Under the Influence.

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