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

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, based on the celebrated theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta.

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives 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 theater and film. 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 part she completely owned. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her magic was contained in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her carers, 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 peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

New York Theater

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier Award for best actress.

A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, 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 Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a nurse in the Emergency Ward 10.

She starred in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theater.

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

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

Alderton and Collins starred together in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.