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Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the eighty-five years old.

She died peacefully in her London residence, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her family.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning film, based on the celebrated theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a Bafta.

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in every single role."

They added she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, appreciating her carers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a calmer departure. We ask that you recall 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"

New York Theater

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

A year later she returned to the character on the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition worldwide.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a medical attendant in the Emergency Ward 10.

She starred in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

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