Inside Gena Rowlands and Filmmaker John Cassavetes' Love Story and 35-Year Marriage
Cassavetes died at age 59 in 1989 after the two were married 35 years
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John Cassavetes and Gena RowlandsGena Rowlands and John Cassavetes had a love story for the ages.
Over the course of their careers, the actress and filmmaker collaborated on 10 films together, including Gloria, Opening Night, A Woman Under the Influence and Minnie and Moskowitz. Both 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence and 1980’s Gloria saw Rowlands earn a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
They first met as students at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts in 1954 and married only a few months later, per ABC News.
Rowlands and Cassavetes then welcomed three children: Nick Cassavetes, born on May 21, 1959; Alexandra "Xan" Cassavetes, born on Sept. 21, 1965; and Zoe Cassavetes, born on June 29, 1970.
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Related: Gena Rowlands’ Son Nick Cassavetes Shares Sweet Fan Tributes After Her Death at 94: ‘Rest Easy Gina’
The couple opened up several times over the years about working together, with Rowlands saying in a 1981 interview, "When we first married, I thought we would be stage actors."
Of their first meeting in 1954, she added that he "happened by" and "came backstage" during a performance of hers, "and that was it."
Asked whether it was "love at first sight," the actress said, "I hate to admit it, but it really was."
Cassavetes agreed in the same interview that it "was something like" love at first sight, adding that he felt Rowlands "was really an incredibly fascinating woman" right off the bat.
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John Cassavetes and Gena RowlandsIn a 2016 interview for RogerEbert.com, Rowlands raved of Cassavetes that "everybody loved" working for him, explaining, "The freedom that John gave his actors was astounding."
"John was always thinking a great deal ahead of us. He loved and adored actors," she added.
That's not to say Rowlands went along with all of her husband's ideas. As Cassavetes said with a laugh in a 1985 interview with The Houston Post, "Gena’s point of view is totally different from mine. But I think that’s great."
"God, if we agreed on everything — can you imagine? Just see us, walking through life, and we’re getting a little older, and people say, ‘Oh, they’re just alike! They agree on everything! If she says ‘blue,’ he says ‘blue.’ They really are together!’ "
He went on to praise Rowlands, "I admire the hell out of her, because this has led me into at least an understanding of the way a person with a totally different background, a totally different cultural understanding of life, feels and thinks. The beauty of working with her is that I think she’s a great actress. I think anybody working with her would know it.”
In a 1971 interview with Playboy, Cassavetes said of his Rowlands, “We keep learning how to play together, so I can step on her toes gently and she can step on mine and we can make a lot of noise.”
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Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes in 1984Related: Gena Rowlands' Life and Career in Pictures
Cassavetes died in 1989 at the age of 59 from complications of cirrhosis, after nearly 35 years of marriage with his actress wife.
After receiving two Oscar nominations prior, Rowlands was given an Honorary Academy Award in November 2015 during the 7th annual Governors Awards ceremony. And during her speech, she thanked her late husband Cassavetes for his contribution to her career.
"You know what is wonderful about being an actress?" she said at the time. "You live many lives."
Rowlands, who went on to remarry retired businessman Robert Forrest in 2012, died at age 94 on Wednesday, Aug. 14, five years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
The Notebook actress died surrounded by her family at her California home, her son Nick's agent confirmed to PEOPLE.
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Gena Rowlands accepts her honorary Oscar during the 7th annual Governors Awards in Hollywood, California, on Nov. 14, 2015Following Rowlands' death, the director reposted a series of sweet tributes to his late mother on his Instagram Stories.
The first post included a photo of Rowlands in the movie Gloria alongside the words, “This picture has graced the walls of every office I’ve ever had! An amazing strong talented woman has left us! Rest easy Gena Rowlands!”
A second post from the same fan featured a black-and-white photo of Rowlands and Cassavetes, in their movie Opening Night.
"Another great team reunited! RIP Gena Rowlands,” the shared post was captioned.
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