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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the age of 85.

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's for several years, according to her family.

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

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

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person 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."

"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

They added she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, appreciating her caregivers, 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 peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

New York Theater

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

A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide.

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

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant 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.

After a number of stage roles, she employed her regional dialect to land a role on The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, their sons and daughter.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.