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

Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the age of 85.

She died peacefully in her London care home, surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress as well as a BAFTA award.

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family said in a statement: "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 knew all those parts of her because her charm was embedded in every single role."

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

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they expressed, thanking her carers, 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 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 Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier award for outstanding 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 movie adaptation was released later that year.

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

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly 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 Theatre.

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

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

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.