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

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, in the company of her loved ones after battling Parkinson's for a number of years, according to her family.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's acclaimed motion picture, adapted from the celebrated theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta.

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her distinguished work saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

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

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, 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 ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Stage Success

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

A year later she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

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

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant 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 striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theatre.

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

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, their sons and daughter.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.