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

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her relatives.

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

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress along with a BAFTA award.

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure 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 beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her caregivers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

New York Theater

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

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

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a nurse 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 adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre.

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

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, their sons and daughter.

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