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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the movie Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

She died peacefully in her London residence, in the company of her loved ones after living with Parkinson's for several years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed motion picture, based on the celebrated theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a BAFTA award.

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered 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 magic was contained in each one of them."

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

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her carers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"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 reflect on life in her absence"

Stage Success

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.

The following year she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition worldwide.

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

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a part-time 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 secure a part on 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 Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.