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Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85.

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her loved ones after living with Parkinson's for several years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife 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 outstanding actress along with a Bafta.

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure 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 role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

The statement continued 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, appreciating her carers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We hope you will remember 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"

New York Theater

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 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 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 globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role 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.

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 wed in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred together in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.