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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85.

She died peacefully in her London care home, surrounded by her loved ones after living with Parkinson's for several years, according to her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, based on the acclaimed theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta.

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters 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 iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise 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 each one of them."

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

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her caregivers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Stage Success

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

The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

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

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

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

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a side 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 striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

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

It was through acting 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 the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.