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Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the movie 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 living with Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the celebrated stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her magic was contained in every single role."

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

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

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

New York Theater

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier Award for best actress.

The following year she returned to the character on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, 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 educator.

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a part-time 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 striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

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 wed in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred together in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.