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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the age of 85.

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, surrounded by her loved ones after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, based on the acclaimed theatrical production by Willy Russell.

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

'Witty Presence'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure 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 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"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they said, appreciating her carers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater 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 Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue 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, playing a fictional dancer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theatre.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had a family of three, 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.