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

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her loved ones after living with 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 film, based on the celebrated theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters 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 role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her magic was contained in each one of them."

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

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her caregivers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

Collins first played 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.

The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a nurse 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 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 wed in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

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