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Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has passed away 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, as stated by 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 playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, 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 were familiar with all those parts of her because her charm was embedded in every single role."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother 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 "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We hope you will remember her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

New York Theater

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

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

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame globally.

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

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 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.

After a number of stage roles, she employed her regional dialect to land a role on The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

The couple performed alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.