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

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her loved ones after living with Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her family.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, based on the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a Bafta.

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those parts of her because her magic was contained in each one of them."

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

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they said, appreciating 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 contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre 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 Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant in the TV series Emergency Ward 10.

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

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on 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 number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.