The Renowned Actress Pauline Collins, Lead Actress of the Film Shirley Valentine, Dies at Eighty-Five Years Old

The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the movie Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85.

She died peacefully in her London residence, in the company of her loved ones after living with Parkinson's for several years, as stated by her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's acclaimed motion picture, adapted from the celebrated theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives 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 distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise 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 "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her carers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in London 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 esteemed Tony Award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included 1991's 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 led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a nurse in the Emergency Ward 10.

She starred in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

Following several theater parts, she employed her regional dialect to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

The couple performed together in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.