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

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, in the company of her loved ones after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her family.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning film, adapted from the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family 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 stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We knew all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in every single role."

They added she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they expressed, thanking her carers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

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 the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

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

A native of 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 side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a nurse in the TV series Emergency Ward 10.

She featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theater.

Following several theater parts, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

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

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