For 35 years, Gena Rowlands’ name was indelibly linked with that of John Cassavetes – not only because they were husband and wife, but also because the talented, pretty blonde starred in most of the films actor Cassavetes wrote and directed.
Although that storied partnership ended with Cassavetes’ death of cirrhosis in 1989, Rowlands by no means shelved her career and retreated to the Hollywood Hills, where she makes her home. Now, at 71, she seems to be working more than ever, even as she trots the globe with boyfriend of five years Bob Forrest, a retired businessman.
Oscar-nominated for two Cassavetes-directed films, A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria, the highly respected actress has appeared in many other directors’ works as well. Along the way, she’s picked up two Golden Globe awards and three Emmys.
The versatile Rowlands – whose first name is pronounced “Jenna” – can be seen playing a variety of mothers and grandmas. In Showtime’s Wild Iris (premiering at 8 p.m. Sunday), she portrays Laura Linney’s critical, motor-mouth mom. In the upcoming Uma Thurman-produced Hysterical Blindness, she is Juliette Lewis’ divorced mother who finds romance with a character played by Ben Gazzara.
The actress has played other comedic roles, in movies like Minnie and Moskowitz, co-starring and directed by Cassavetes; but her favorites are juicy dramatic roles, such as the nervous-breakdown victim in his A Woman Under the Influence.
Rowlands has indeed found another complex part in the drama Wild Iris. As a driven woman battling with her alcoholic daughter, Rowland says, “she is the ultimate survivor and has contempt for anyone that doesn’t survive well.” Such disdain gets dumped on Linney’s character, who, broken up about her husband’s suicide eight years before, blames the tragedy on Mom. “I’m borrowing quite a lot from my grandmother – she was very dominant and strong, but had very little compassion,” says Rowlands of relating to her role. Virginia Cathryn Rowlands, born in tiny Cambria, Wis., was a sickly child who spent much of her early years in bed reading books. Rowlands’ interest in literature led to acting in school plays, increasing after the family moved to Washington, D.C., when she was 10. While studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she met alumnus Cassavetes. “He saw me in a play, and that was it.” The couple wed in 1954 and had three children.
