The Tragic Way Real Life Is Mimicking The Notebook For One Of The Film's Stars

In an unfortunate case of life imitating art, actor Gena Rowlands has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and has dementia, according to her son Nick Cassavetes. The director told Entertainment Weekly it was sadly ironic, given that she played a character with those afflictions in the 2004 film "The Notebook."

"I got my mom to play older Allie," said Cassavetes, who directed the film, "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. ... She's in full dementia. And it's so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it's on us." Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, causing memory loss, behavioral issues, and cognitive decline, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Rowlands played the older version of Rachel McAdam's character, Allie Hamilton, in the noteworthy and beloved romantic comedy. Her version of the character is shown struggling with dementia as her husband Noah "Duke" Calhoun — played by James Garner and Ryan Gosling as the older and younger versions respectively — tries to help her remember her past. What makes the real-life situation even more tragic is that Rowlands almost didn't take the role based on her experiences with another family member who had Alzheimer's disease.

Unfortunately, there is a hereditary component to Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's Association notes that it is more likely to affect people who have a parent or sibling with Alzheimer's. That's the reason that Gena Rowlands almost declined the role of Allie in "The Notebook."

"[It] was particularly hard because I play a character who has Alzheimer's," Rowlands told O, The Oprah Magazine, in 2004. "I went through that with my mother, and if Nick [Cassavetes] 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."

Still, the actor had fond memories of working on the film, especially since she got to work with her son. She said that she was quite impressed with the way he handled himself while at the helm of the production, marveling that the little boy she raised had come so far. Even though he was very professional, he still made sure to acknowledge and praise him mom. Rowlands recalled a funny moment on set: "The first day of shooting, Nick said, 'Okay, Mom. Action!' James Garner turned to me and said, 'Action, Mom! That's the first time in my career I've ever heard that one.' James laughed so hard he ruined the take."

James Garner, who played the caring and committed Noah "Duke" Calhoun as an older man, passed away in 2014 due to natural causes. He had praised his co-star Gena Rowlands and noted the subtleties in her acting method in a 2004 interview with E! News. "I love Gena. She's a tremendous actress," he said. "She's amazing, Gena, in the sense that you look at her when she's doing it, and you don't see much going on, but you put it up on the screen, and oooh, wow, there's a lot of things going on in her face and her eyes. That's great."

Author Nicholas Sparks, who wrote the novel "The Notebook" on which the movie is based, honored Rowlands via social media after the news of her Alzheimer's diagnosis broke. "On days like today, I'm reminded of Gena's powerful portrayal of Allie and the depth she brought to the character," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Her performance touched millions of hearts and helped bring my story to life in ways I never imagined. I'm truly honored to have worked with such a talented artist."

Rowlands is one of many celebrities who struggled with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. The family of actor Bruce Willis announced that he had frontotemporal dementia in 2023. The effects of dementia caused "The Birds" actor Tippi Hendren to forget her movie career, her reps announced in 2024. Former talk show host Wendy Williams also has aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and was only in her late 50s when she received the diagnosis, which was announced in 2024.