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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the eighty-five years old.

She died peacefully in her London care home, surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson's for several years, as stated by her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, based on the celebrated theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress as well as a BAFTA award.

'Witty Presence'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We knew all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her carers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for best actress.

The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The film of the same name was released later that year.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant in the Emergency Ward 10.

She featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

Following several theater parts, she employed her regional dialect to secure a part on The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.