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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her family.

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

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

'Witty Presence'

Collins' family said in a statement: "She was a multifaceted person to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"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 parts of her because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, 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 caregivers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

New York Theater

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

A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she earned several awards 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 actor 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 teacher.

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a medical attendant 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 striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theatre.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to secure a part on the show The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.