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The celebrated actress 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, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's acclaimed film, adapted from the acclaimed theatrical production by Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives 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 stage and screen. Her illustrious career 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 every single role."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

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

"She experienced a calmer departure. We hope you will remember her at the peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in the UK capital in 1988. She received 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 movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

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

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a nurse in the TV series Emergency Ward 10.

She starred in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London adult entertainment venue, 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 encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

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