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Famous people diagnosed with dementia
Legendary actress Gena Rowlands suffering from Alzheimer’s, said son Nick Cassavetes
© Getty Images
In medicine, dementia is a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions. There are many disorders that fall into this category, from Alzheimer's to Lewy body dementia. But while we often think of dementia and Alzheimer's disease as normal parts of aging, this isn't really the case. The CDC estimates that up to 40% of cases of dementia are actually preventable, or could at least be delayed.
Actress Gena Rowlands, best known for her incredible performances in the films of her husband and creative partner John Cassavetes, is living with Alzheimer’s disease. The sad news was shared by her son Nick Cassavetes, director of 'The Notebook' (2004), in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He reflected on the fact that she played a character with Alzheimer’s in his famous film long before she had the disease herself. “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,” 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, now 94, had a career that began in the 1950s and earned her four Emmys and two Golden Globes. She was revered for her performances in John Cassavetes movies like 'A Woman Under the Influence' (1974) and 'Opening Night' (1977), and received an honorary Academy Award in 2015.
Like the rest of the population, many celebrities have been diagnosed with some form of dementia late in life before passing away in their senior years. However, some have been unlucky enough to develop the condition at much younger ages, and have their golden years taken from them.
In this gallery, click through to learn which famous faces lived with dementia in one form or another.
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