Name Lady Rowlands | Role Film actress | |
Died May 28, 1999, Woodland Hills, California, United States Spouse Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands (m. 1924–1961) Children Gena Rowlands, David Rowlands Grandchildren Nick Cassavetes, Alexandra Cassavetes, Zoe Cassavetes Movies A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night, Minnie and Moskowitz, The Teacher Similar People Katherine Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Bo Harwood, Nick Cassavetes, Alexandra Cassavetes | ||
Lady Rowlands (born Mary Allen Neal; April 12, 1904 – May 28, 1999) was an American film actress. Most of her work came in the films of John Cassavetes, who was married to her daughter, the Academy Award-nominated and four-time Emmy Award-winning actress Gena Rowlands.
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Life and career
Rowlands was the daughter of Tennessee Virginia (Hickey) and William Joel Neal. She was married to Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands, a banker and statesman, with whom she lived in Cambria, Wisconsin. They had two children, David and Virginia (later known as Gena Rowlands). She lived as a housewife, but practiced music, acting, and painting as hobbies.
Rowlands later moved to California along with her daughter and son-in-law, actor John Cassavetes. Cassavetes began directing films, and cast Rowlands in three of his pictures. She adopted the screen-name "Lady Rowlands", a nickname given by her grandchildren. In Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) and A Woman Under the Influence (1974), she played the mother of her real-life daughter. Her home was used for the filming of Faces (1968) and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976).
Aside from her work with Cassavetes, Rowlands also appeared in two television movies and had a role in the film Ted & Venus (1991).
Her grandchildren, Nick Cassavetes, Alexandra Cassavetes, and Zoe Cassavetes, are all film directors.