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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her role 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 loved ones after battling Parkinson's for several years, according to her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed film, based on the acclaimed theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe Award for best actress along with a BAFTA award.

'Sparkling Personality'

Her relatives 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 portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"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 each one of them."

They added she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they said, appreciating her carers, who looked after 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"

New York Theater

Collins first played 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 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, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

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