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Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands is an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned over six decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations with her late actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, including A Woman Under the Influence (1974) and Gloria (1980), which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Opening Night (1977). In November 2015, Rowlands received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her unique screen performances.
Birth Name
Virginia Cathryn Rowlands
Born
Thursday, 19 June 1930
Actress Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age | Self | 2021 |
| The Movies | Minnie / Myrtle Gordon / Mabel Longhetti | 2019 |
| Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks | Lily Harrison | 2014 |
| Academy Originals: What Movies Mean to Me | Self | 2014 |
| Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films | Sarah Lawson | 2014 |
| Yellow | Mimi | 2014 |
| Parts Per Billion | Esther | 2014 |
| And the Oscar Goes to... | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2014 |
| Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen | (archive footage) | 2012 |
| Olive | Tess M Powell | 2011 |
Actress Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age | Self | 2021 |
| The Movies | Minnie / Myrtle Gordon / Mabel Longhetti | 2019 |
| Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks | Lily Harrison | 2014 |
| Academy Originals: What Movies Mean to Me | Self | 2014 |
| Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films | Sarah Lawson | 2014 |
| Yellow | Mimi | 2014 |
| Parts Per Billion | Esther | 2014 |
| And the Oscar Goes to... | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2014 |
| Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen | (archive footage) | 2012 |
| Olive | Tess M Powell | 2011 |
| Faces | (archive footage) | 2011 |
| Persepolis | Grandmother | 2007 |
| Broken English | Vivien Wilder-Mann | 2007 |
| Cannes: All Access | Self | 2007 |
| What If God Were the Sun? | Melissa Eisenbloom | 2007 |
| Edge of Outside | Self | 2006 |
| Paris, I Love You | Gena (segment "Quartier Latin") / Gena (Quartier Latin) | 2006 |
| The Skeleton Key | Violet Devereaux | 2005 |
| Numb3rs | Erika Hellman | 2005 |
| The Notebook | Allie Calhoun | 2004 |
| Taking Lives | Mrs. Asher / Mrs. Rebecca Asher | 2004 |
| NCIS | Joann Fielding | 2003 |
| The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie | Mrs.Ritchie / Mrs. Evelyn Ritchie | 2003 |
| Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There | Self | 2003 |
| Hysterical Blindness | Virginia Miller | 2002 |
| Charms for the Easy Life | Charlie Kate Birch / Charlie Kate | 2002 |
| Monk | Marge Johnson | 2002 |
| Wild Iris | Minnie Brinn | 2001 |
| Ljuset håller mig sällskap | Self - Interviewee / Self | 2000 |
| The Color of Love: Jacey's Story | Georgia Porter | 2000 |
| A Constant Forge | Self | 2000 |
| The Weekend | Laura Ponti | 1999 |
| AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars: America's Greatest Screen Legends | Self | 1999 |
| Playing by Heart | Hannah | 1998 |
| Grace & Glorie | Grace Stiles | 1998 |
| The Mighty | Gram | 1998 |
| Hope Floats | Ramona Calvert | 1998 |
| Paulie | Ivy | 1998 |
| Best Friends for Life | Mrs. Harriet Cahill | 1998 |
| She's So Lovely | Miss Green | 1997 |
| Unhook the Stars | Mildred / Mildred 'Millie' Hawks | 1996 |
| John Cassavetes: To Risk Everything to Express It All | Self / Himself | 1996 |
| The Neon Bible | Mae Morgan | 1995 |
| Something to Talk About | Georgia King | 1995 |
| Cartelera | Herself (archive footage) | 1994 |
| Parallel Lives | Francie Pomerantz | 1994 |
| Anything for John | Self | 1993 |
| The 65th Annual Academy Awards | Self | 1993 |
| Silent Cries | Peggy Sutherland | 1993 |
| Rock Hudson's Home Movies | Els Drager | 1992 |
| Crazy in Love | Honora Swift | 1992 |
| Face of a Stranger | Pat Foster | 1991 |
| Night on Earth | Victoria Snelling / Victoria Snelling (segment "Los Angeles") | 1991 |
| Ted & Venus | Mrs. Turner | 1991 |
| Once Around | Marilyn Bella | 1991 |
| Hollywood Mavericks | Self / Self (archive footage) | 1990 |
| Montana | Bess Guthrie | 1990 |
| Another Woman | Marion | 1988 |
| Biography | Self / Ramona Calvert | 1987 |
| The Betty Ford Story | Betty Ford | 1987 |
| Light of Day | Jeanette Rasnick / Janette Rasnick | 1987 |
| An Early Frost | Katherine Pierson | 1985 |
| I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes - the Man and His Work | Self | 1984 |
| Love Streams | Sarah Lawson | 1984 |
| Fräulein Berlin | Self | 1984 |
| Thursday's Child | Victoria Alden | 1983 |
| Faerie Tale Theatre | Witch | 1982 |
| Tempest | Antonia / Antonia Dimitrius | 1982 |
| The 53rd Annual Academy Awards | Self - Nominee | 1981 |
| Gloria | Gloria Swenson | 1980 |
| Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter | Abigail Mason | 1979 |
| The Brink's Job | Mary Pino | 1978 |
| A Question of Love | Linda Ray Guettner | 1978 |
| Opening Night | Myrtle Gordon | 1977 |
| Two-Minute Warning | Janet | 1976 |
| A Woman Under the Influence | Mabel Longhetti | 1974 |
| Bicentennial Minutes | Self - Narrator | 1974 |
| Circle of Fear | Kate Lucas | 1972 |
| Minnie and Moskowitz | Minnie Moore / Minnie | 1971 |
| Columbo | Elizabeth Van Wick | 1971 |
| Husbands | Party Guest | 1970 |
| The David Frost Show | Self - Guest | 1969 |
| Medical Center | Frances Delaney / Karen Coberly | 1969 |
| Machine Gun McCain | Rosemary Scott | 1969 |
| Marcus Welby, M.D. | Lorraine Denby | 1969 |
| Faces | Jeannie Rapp | 1968 |
| The Dick Cavett Show | Self - Guest | 1968 |
| Tony Rome | Rita Kosterman | 1967 |
| Garrison's Gorillas | Duchess | 1967 |
| The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Baroness Ingrid Blangstead | 1966 |
| The Road West | Karen Collier | 1966 |
| The Long, Hot Summer | Karen Roberts | 1965 |
| Run for Your Life | Charlotte Hyde | 1965 |
| Peyton Place | Adrienne Van Leyden | 1964 |
| Cinéastes de notre temps | Self | 1964 |
| Kraft Suspense Theatre | Lois Baxter / Janet Cord | 1963 |
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | June | 1963 |
| Burke's Law | Paullette Shane / Mitzi Carlisle | 1963 |
| Breaking Point | Shelley Osborne Peters | 1963 |
| A Child Is Waiting | Sophie Widdicombe / Sophie Widdicombe Benham | 1963 |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Herself - Guest | 1962 |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Louise Henderson / Helen Martin / Diana Justin | 1962 |
| The Virginian | Savannah | 1962 |
| The Lloyd Bridges Show | Leslie Kaufman | 1962 |
| The Spiral Road | Els | 1962 |
| Lonely Are the Brave | Jerry Bondi | 1962 |
| The Mike Douglas Show | Herself - Actress | 1961 |
| Target: The Corruptors | Marian Praisewater | 1961 |
| Dr. Kildare | Helen Scott | 1961 |
| The Dick Powell Theatre | Mrs. Canfield | 1961 |
| 87th Precinct | Teddy Carella | 1961 |
| Shadows | Woman in Nightclub Audience | 1960 |
| The Islanders | Pepper Mint | 1960 |
| Here's Hollywood | Self | 1960 |
| The Tab Hunter Show | Barbara / Penelope | 1960 |
| Adventures in Paradise | Dr. Abigail Brent | 1959 |
| Laramie | Laurel DeWalt | 1959 |
| Riverboat | Rose Traynor | 1959 |
| Bonanza | Ragan Miller | 1959 |
| Johnny Staccato | Nina Van Ness | 1959 |
| Markham | Rita Evans | 1959 |
| 77 Sunset Strip | Barbara Adams | 1958 |
| The High Cost of Loving | Ginny Fry | 1958 |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Lucille Jones | 1955 |
| The United States Steel Hour | Lily | 1953 |
| Ponds Theater | Janet | 1953 |
| Person to Person | Self | 1953 |
| General Electric Theater | Dorothy Dickenson | 1953 |
| Goodyear Playhouse | Betty / Eve | 1951 |
| Armstrong Circle Theatre | Lugene | 1950 |
| Robert Montgomery Presents | Myrtle Wilson | 1950 |
| Studio One | Betty | 1948 |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | Self / Self - live scenes from 'Middle of the Night' | 1948 |
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 2009 | Emmy | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated |
| 2007 | Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie | Nominated |
| 2003 | Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated |
| 2003 | Emmy | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Won |
| 2002 | Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Nominated |
| 2000 | Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Nominated |
| 1993 | Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated |
| 1992 | Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special | Won |
| 1988 | Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Won |
| 1987 | Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special | Won |
| 1986 | Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated |
| 1986 | Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special | Nominated |
| 1984 | Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated |
| 1981 | Oscar | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| 1981 | Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama | Nominated |
| 1978 | Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama | Nominated |
| 1975 | Oscar | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| 1975 | Golden Globe | Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama | Won |
