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

She died peacefully in her London residence, in the company of her loved ones after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's acclaimed motion picture, adapted from the celebrated theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe for best actress along with a BAFTA award.

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure 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 part she completely owned. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

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

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

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Stage Success

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

The following year she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

The film of the same name was released later that year.

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

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

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 starred in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on The Liver Birds.

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

Alderton and Collins starred together in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.