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Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the eighty-five years old.

She died peacefully in her London residence, surrounded by her loved ones after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning film, based on the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

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

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her carers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

Collins first played the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier Award for best actress.

The following year she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was released later that year.

Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame globally.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of 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 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 striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theatre.

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

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

The couple performed alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.