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

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, surrounded by her loved ones after battling Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives said in a statement: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her career. A bright, sparky, witty presence on stage and screen. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in every single role."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they said, thanking her carers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She could not have had 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"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She received that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

The following year she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a prestigious 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, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a nurse in the TV series Emergency Ward 10.

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

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

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.