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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 residence, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's for several years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the acclaimed theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta.

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters 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 parts of her 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 actor 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 ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in the UK capital 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 the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role 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 Theater.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent 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 a family of three, their sons and daughter.

The couple performed alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.