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

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her family.

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

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

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles 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."

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

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they expressed, appreciating her caregivers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Broadway Role

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier award for best actress.

The following year she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

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

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

Her passion for theater 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 starred 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 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 three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred together in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.