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The actress died at her California home on Wednesday afternoon, according to TMZ. Her husband of 12 years, Robert Forrest, was by her side, along with her daughter, Alexandra Cassavetes, 58. Gena was best known for playing the older version of Rachel McAdams' character Allie in the 2004 movie, The Notebook, which was directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. In the film, her character had dementia - and in the past few years, Gena herself suffered from the same disease. In June this year, Nick revealed his mum was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and was now "in full dementia". "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. She's in full dementia. And it's so crazy - we lived it, she acted it, and now it's on us.". Gena began her career in the 1950s on stage and in television. She worked closely with her first husband, actor, writer and director John Cassavetes, who hailed her as his muse. They worked together on several independent films in the 1970s and 1980s. She retired from Hollywood in 2015 after earning four Emmy awards, two Golden Globes, and two Oscar nominations. She is survived by her three children from her first marriage, Nick, Alexandra and Zoe Cassavetes.
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