Pauline Collins, Lead Actress of Shirley Valentine, Dies at the Age of 85

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

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, in the company of her loved ones after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a BAFTA award.

'Sparkling Personality'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. 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 legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her magic was contained in every single role."

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

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they said, thanking her caregivers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. 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"

Stage Success

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

The following year she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised 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 nurse in the TV series 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.

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

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

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