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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed film, based on the acclaimed stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe for best actress along with a Bafta.

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We knew 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-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they expressed, thanking her carers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

Collins first played the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She received that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

A year later she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

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

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

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role 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 striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

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

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred together in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.