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Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the eighty-five years old.

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning film, based on the acclaimed stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"Her memory will endure as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in each one of them."

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

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

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; 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 won that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious 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.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant in the 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 Theater.

Following several theater parts, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred together in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.