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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance 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 loved ones after living with Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed film, adapted from the acclaimed theatrical production by Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

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 distinguished work 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 were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in every single role."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma", and actor John Alderton's "life-long love"

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

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; 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 Theatre in London in 1988. She won that year's Olivier award for outstanding actress.

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

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a nurse in the TV series 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 Theater.

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

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

The couple performed together in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.