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Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the movie 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 relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning film, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta.

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives said in a statement: "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."

"She will always be remembered as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

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

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they said, thanking her carers, who looked after 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 peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

New York Theater

She initially performed 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 returned to the character 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 actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame worldwide.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and began her professional life 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 nurse in the TV series Emergency Ward 10.

She starred 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.

Her acting career 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 ITV's popular series.