‘The Notebook’s’ Gena Rowlands, who played Allie, suffering from Alzheimer’s, son says

The acclaimed actor and honorary Oscar recipient Gena Rowlands is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, her son, filmmaker Nick Cassavetes, revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Tuesday.

In the 2004 film “The Notebook,” Cassavetes directed his mother, who portrayed the older version of Rachel McAdams’ character, a woman with dementia.

“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,” Cassavetes said. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”

Rowlands, 94, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about five years ago, a condition her mother, Lady Rowlands, also had.

While filming “The Notebook,” Gena Rowlands channeled her mother to play the older Allie. “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,” Rowlands told O magazine in 2004. “It was a tough but wonderful movie.”

Rowlands made 10 films with her husband, John Cassavetes, including the 1974 film “A Woman Under the Influence” and the 1980 film “Gloria.” She was nominated for an Oscar for both performances. Rowlands has also won four Emmys, with her latest film work in the 2014 comedy “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,” according to IMDb.