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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the movie Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's disease for a number of years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed motion picture, based on the acclaimed stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a Bafta.

'Sparkling Personality'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her magic was contained in every single role."

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

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her caregivers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

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.

A year later she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

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

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

Her love of the stage 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 employed her regional dialect to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

The couple performed together in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.