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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 residence, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's for several years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's acclaimed film, adapted from the celebrated theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe Award for best actress along with a Bafta.

'Sparkling Personality'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her distinguished work saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful 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."

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

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, appreciating her caregivers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; 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 the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

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

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

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

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a side 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.

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

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, their sons and daughter.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.