Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the eighty-five years old.
Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, 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 disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning film, based on the celebrated stage play by playwright Willy Russell.
Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress as well as a BAFTA award.
Collins' family released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her distinguished work saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."
"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those parts of her because her magic was contained in each one of them."
They added she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"
"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they said, appreciating her caregivers, 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 height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"
She initially performed the lead part 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 movie adaptation was released later that year.
Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition worldwide.
A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near 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 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 employed her regional dialect to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.
Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.
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.
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