The Renowned Actress Pauline Collins, Star of Shirley Valentine, Dies at 85

Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her loved ones after battling Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the celebrated theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe for best actress along with a BAFTA award.

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles 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 were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in every single role."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they expressed, thanking her caregivers, 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 peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

A year later she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

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

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of 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 TV series 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.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent 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 together in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.