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

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 residence, surrounded by her loved ones after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, as stated by her family.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's acclaimed motion picture, based on the acclaimed theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Witty Presence'

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 theater and film. 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 aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in every single role."

They added she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they expressed, appreciating her caregivers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Stage Success

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

The following year she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

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

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

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 featured 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 employed her regional dialect to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, their sons and daughter.

The couple performed 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.