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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, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed film, adapted from the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress along with a Bafta.

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her career. 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 role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

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

"She experienced a calmer departure. We hope you will remember 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 the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier award for best actress.

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

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition worldwide.

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

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a nurse in the Emergency Ward 10.

She starred in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

After a number of stage roles, she employed her regional dialect to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

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

Alderton and Collins starred together in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.