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

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's for a number of years, according to her family.

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

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

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"Her memory will endure as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating 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; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier award for outstanding actress.

The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was released later that year.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a side 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 Theater.

After a number of stage roles, she employed her regional dialect to secure a part on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

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