🔗 Share this article

The celebrated actress 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 residence, surrounded by her loved ones after battling Parkinson's for a number of years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's acclaimed motion picture, adapted from the acclaimed theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"She will always be remembered 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 every single role."

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

"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 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 the UK capital 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 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame globally.

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

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly 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 adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre.

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

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

The couple performed together in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.