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  • Virginia Cathryn Rowlands was born in Cambria, Wisconsin, on 19 June 1930.
  • Her father, Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands, was vice-president of the local bank, a Wisconsin state assemblyman and a state senator.
  • She lives for a perid of time in Arlington, Virginia where she starts to amateur drama.
  • Her mother was Mary Allen Neal. She stayed at home entertaining herself with music, drama and painting.
  • Gena had a brother, David, who lived in San Francisco as pilot in the Navy.
  • In 1947 she enrolled at the University of Wisconsin.
  • Despite her wealthy and family connectons, she had a crisis with her parents and moved to New York to AADA (october class of 1950).
  • She took part-time job at Little Carnegie Cinema where he become fascinated with Marlene Dietrich in Blue Angel (an interest shared with her soon-to-be husbands).
  • Following the first year, she had a job in a George Hale's production and left the school in april 1951.
  • In 1952 she toured with the Boston Summer Theater in Roland Alexander's Season with Ginger.
  • In 1952 and 1953 to get a little money extra she wrote dialogue for comic books.
  • In1953 she had another tour, plays in George Axelrod's The Seven Year Itch.
  • She returned in New York in december where she starts the relation with JC. As you can imagine the relationship was not exactly smooth as velvet...