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

She died peacefully in her London care home, surrounded by her loved ones after battling Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, based on the celebrated theatrical production by 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 released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"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 aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in every single role."

They added she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, appreciating her caregivers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; 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 Theatre in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

A year later she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame globally.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and began her professional life 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 nurse in the 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.

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

Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, their sons and daughter.

The couple performed alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.