NEW YORK — Gena Rowlands, the acclaimed American actress, three-time Emmy winner and dual Oscar nominee for her vivid portrayals of strong, troubled women in the crime drama Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, has died at the age of 94, Entertainment Weekly reported on Wednesday, citing her son, Nick Cassavetes.

Ms. Rowlands starred in dozens of films during a career that began on stage and television in the 1950s and included award-winning roles in movies directed by her first husband, actor, writer, and director John Cassavetes.

Nick Cassavetes revealed in June that Ms. Rowlands had Alzheimer’s, like her own mother and the character she portrayed in the 2004 film The Notebook.

“She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us,” her son, who directed the film, told Entertainment Weekly.

Ms. Rowlands and Mr. Cassavetes were the golden couple of independent films in the United States in the 1970s and ’80s. Mr. Cassavetes was a pioneer in cinema verité and Ms. Rowlands was his muse.

“Independent filmmaking existed before Cassavetes, but Cassavetes, working with Rowlands, managed to make an independent cinema that borrowed from Hollywood — not in plots or styles but in actorly allure and dramatic power,” the New Yorker said in 2016.

The tall, blonde actress made 10 films with Mr. Cassavetes before his death in 1989, including the psychological drama Opening Night (1977), the marital saga Faces (1968), and 1984’s Love Streams, in which she played his sister.

“There was always a manic energy to the performances she gave in her late husband’s films, a fear of failure, a desire to love,” the awards website Golden Derby said of Ms. Rowlands.

In A Woman Under the Influence, which Mr. Cassavetes originally wrote as a play and which is considered among her best performances, Ms. Rowlands played Mabel Longhetti, a housewife struggling with mental illness.

As the tough, determined title character in Mr. Cassavetes’ 1980 film Gloria, she rescued and protected a young, orphaned boy from mobsters determined to kill him.

“Rowlands’ sublime acting is almost unprecedentedly id-driven: her beleaguered heroines operate from such deep reserves of need that can only be accessed by Rowlands, who doesn’t just claim moments but wrestles with them in order to extract even tougher layers of authenticity,” critic Matthew Eng said on the Tribeca News website in 2016.

Although she didn’t win an Oscar for either role, Ms. Rowlands received an Honorary Academy Award in 2015.

ALWAYS WANTED TO ACT
Virginia Cathryn “Gena” Rowlands was born on June 19, 1930, in Cambria, Wisconsin. Her father was a banker and politician, and her mother was an actress.

After college she moved to New York, where she studied drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and met fellow student Mr. Cassavetes.

“I always wanted to be an actress; I read so much when I was little, and it revealed to me there were other things to be. You can live a lot of lives and have a lot of fun and see a lot of things,” she told the New York Times in 2016.

Ms. Rowlands worked in regional theater and TV before making her Broadway debut in Middle of the Night in 1956. Two years later she landed her first film role in The High Cost of Loving and appeared in Mr. Cassavetes’ directorial debut film Shadows.

“It was not like working for anybody else,” she told film critic Roger Ebert about her husband in 2016. “The freedom that John gave his actors was astounding.”

Ms. Rowlands continued to work in films, including Woody Allen’s 1988 drama Another Woman, and TV following Mr. Cassavetes’ death.

She won best actress Emmys for the The Betty Ford Story (1987) and the drama Face of a Stranger (1992) and took home a best supporting trophy in a miniseries or movie for Hysterical Blindness (2002).

The independent film icon found a new audience when she returned to the big screen in 2004 as the older version of actress Rachel McAdams’ character in The Notebook.

Ms. Rowlands was married to Mr. Cassavetes from 1954 until his death. They had three children. In 2012, she wed businessman Robert Forrest.

“It’s a tricky life but it was so exciting and wonderful because you were doing what you really wanted to,” she said about acting and making independent films. — Reuters

LONDON — Taylor Swift will take to the stage in London on Thursday, resuming the world’s biggest ever concert tour amid tightened security after a foiled Islamic State-inspired attack forced the cancelation of her Vienna dates last week.

British police have said there is nothing to indicate that events in Vienna would impact the five appearances at Wembley Stadium, where 90,000 “Swifties” are expected to cheer her on each evening. However, security is set to be tight.

Tay-gating, the practice of gathering outside a Taylor Swift show without a ticket, like thousands did in Munich earlier in the summer, will not be allowed, as authorities try to reduce harder-to-control vulnerabilities outside the venue.

Fans at Wembley will enter through metal detectors and are only allowed to bring one small bag. Glass and metal containers, laptops, and umbrellas are all banned.

“Anyone hanging around outside the stadium will be moved on by security,” Wembley said on its website.

Ms. Swift, 34, has previously said her biggest fear was the risk to her fans following two attacks at music events in 2017 — a Las Vegas shooting and a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that prompted a rethink of the way British authorities police major shows.

She said the attacks had made her “terrified” of going on tour and prompted additional planning and safety measures.

“We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears,” she said in 2019.

The “Cruel Summer” singer will return fueled by the positivity, heartfelt lyrics, friendship bracelets and sequined outfits that have made her a global megastar.

She performed in Britain in June to sell-out crowds that included heir-to-the-throne Prince William and two of his children, plus Keir Starmer, who has since been elected prime minister. London also published a special Taylor Swift tube map of her song titles.

Her Eras Tour is set to gross over $1 billion in revenue, the first to do so, from 149 shows over two years. The last performance will be in Canada in December.

RETURN TO BRITAIN
Ms. Swift’s return to Britain could be emotional after recent events.

On July 29 three young children were killed at a Taylor Swift-inspired dance class in Southport, northern England. Ms. Swift told her 284 million Instagram followers that she was “completely in shock” over the “loss of life and innocence.”

She has not said anything on the Vienna cancelations.

Security experts said British authorities had learnt from the Manchester attack, which killed 22 people including young children, with police, venue security, and organizers working as one to protect a venue.

Chris Phillips, former head of Britain’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office and now a security consultant to major events, said Wembley benefited from being a permanent venue.

“They employ a lot of security teams,” he told Reuters. “Wembley is as safe as you’re going to get.”

Experts said they expected staff to be re-vetted after a suspect in Vienna secured a job providing services at the stadium there.

Noah Price, international academy director at security group G4S, said there would be “enhanced levels of protection at the venue,” with staffing patterns closely monitored.

“The insider threat is actually the most prevalent (…) because it has unfettered access,” he said.

“You’ve got to look at unusual behavior,” he added. “People turning up earlier or leaving later. Look at the access control logs.”

Tim Gallagher, chief security officer with global investigations firm Nardello & Co, agreed that it was “extremely troubling” that a Vienna suspect was employed by a company working at the venue, and said staff at Wembley would likely be re-vetted.

Don Erickson, chief executive of the Security Industry Association, said visible measures, such as scanners, would be complemented by intelligence and tech-like video surveillance.

“It’s balancing the safety and the security versus the fan experience,” he said. “But they’re not mutually exclusive, you can accomplish all of it.”

Wembley made the point to Swifties in a language they would understand: “Read all the information provided and take note of what you can and can’t do. Don’t Shake It Off as not important.” — Reuters