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The TRUE story behind The Notebook as star Gena Rowlands' own battle with dementia is laid bare in devastating echo of her on-screen role
The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, was released in June 2004 and grossed more than $117 million worldwide - but fans may not know that the story is based on a real couple.
But it's not just McAdams and Gosling who captured our hearts two decades ago as Allie and Noah, but also Gena Rowlands and James Garner who play the couple in their twilight years. The 2004 film cuts between the unlikely couple's passionate youth and the present day, where an elderly Noah, disguised as 'Duke,' reads their story from a notebook to a fellow nursing home resident – his wife, Allie (played by Gena Rowlands), who has dementia. Sparks has never revealed the real names of his ex-wife's grandparents but he did confirm that Noah's devotion to reading Allie the story of their lives to help bring back her memory was also inspired by his ex-grandfather-in-law.
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