🔗 Share this article

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

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's acclaimed film, based on the celebrated theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress along with a Bafta.

'Witty Presence'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. 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 part she completely owned. We knew all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in every single role."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they said, appreciating her carers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

New York Theater

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

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

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of 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 had a cameo role as a medical attendant in the 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 used her Liverpool accent to secure a part on The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

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.