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

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, in the company of her loved ones after battling Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her family.

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

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

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her distinguished work saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"She will always be remembered as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those parts of her because her magic was contained in each one of them."

They added she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, 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 peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

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.

The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a medical attendant in the Emergency Ward 10.

She featured 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 land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she met her husband 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 variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.