🔗 Share this article

Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the age of 85.

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

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's acclaimed film, based on the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "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 portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

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

They added she was their "devoted mother, 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, thanking her caregivers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had 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

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

A year later she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

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

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a nurse in the Emergency Ward 10.

She featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

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

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

Alderton and Collins starred together in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.