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

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, in the company of her family after living with 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 the director's award-winning film, adapted from the celebrated theatrical production by Willy Russell.

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

'Sparkling Personality'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise 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 "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her caregivers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the title role 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 reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a part-time 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, portraying an imaginary performer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theatre.

Following several theater parts, she employed her regional dialect to secure a part on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, their sons and daughter.

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