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Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, in the company of her loved ones after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's acclaimed film, adapted from the acclaimed theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe for best actress along with a Bafta.

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives 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 distinguished work 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 were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her caregivers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Broadway Role

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

A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

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 featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theater.

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

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

The couple performed together in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.