Lady Rowlands

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, actress Gena Rowlands.

Lady Rowlands
Born	Mary Allen Neal (1904-04-12)April 12, 1904 Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	May 28, 1999(1999-05-28) (aged 95) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Spouse	Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands ​ ​ (m. 1924; died 1961)​
Children	2, including Gena Rowlands
Family	Nick Cassavetes (grandson) Alexandra Cassavetes (granddaughter) Zoe Cassavetes (granddaughter)

Life and career

Rowlands was the daughter of Tennessee Virginia (née Hickey) and William Joel Neal, who was of Irish descent. She was married to Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands, a Welsh-American 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.^[1]

Rowlands later moved to California along with her daughter and son-in-law, actor John Cassavetes.^[1] 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.^[1] 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).^[2]

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 actors and film directors.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Minnie and Moskowitz	Georgia Moore
1974	Unwed Father		TV movie
	The Teacher	Gossiping Lady 2
	A Woman Under the Influence	Martha Mortensen
1977	Opening Night	Melva Drake
1978	Dr. Strange	Mrs. Sullivan
1991	Ted & Venus	Linda's Grandmother	(final film role)