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

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her family after living with Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, based on the acclaimed stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives said in a statement: "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 distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those parts of her because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

They added she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they said, thanking her carers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Stage Success

Collins first played the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for outstanding actress.

A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a medical attendant in the Emergency Ward 10.

She featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre.

Following several theater parts, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

The couple performed alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.