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

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

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed motion picture, adapted from the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives said in a statement: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence 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 charm was embedded in every single role."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her caregivers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

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

A year later she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide.

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

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant 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 Theatre.

After a number of stage roles, she employed her regional dialect to secure a part on The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

The couple performed together in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.