The Renowned Actress Pauline Collins, Star of the Film Shirley Valentine, Passes Away at Eighty-Five Years Old

Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson's for several years, according to her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's award-winning film, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress along with a BAFTA award.

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family said in a statement: "She was a multifaceted person to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

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

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

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, appreciating her caregivers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

New York Theater

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier Award for best actress.

A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame worldwide.

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

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a part-time 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, playing a fictional dancer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theatre.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to secure a part on the show The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

The couple performed alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.