Pauline Collins, Star of the Film Shirley Valentine, Passes Away at 85

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

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, surrounded by her family after living with Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed film, based on 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'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her life. 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 legendary, determined, lively, and insightful 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."

They added she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her caregivers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us 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 received that year's Olivier award for best actress.

The following year she returned to the character on the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

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

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised 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 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 Theatre.

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

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, their sons and daughter.

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