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

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

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, based on the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta.

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We knew all those parts of her because her magic was contained in every single role."

They added she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they said, thanking her caregivers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. 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"

New York Theater

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 best actress.

A year later she returned to the character on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally.

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

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a nurse in the TV series 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.

Following several theater parts, she employed her regional dialect to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They married 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 Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.