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

She died peacefully in her London residence, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's disease for several years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress as well as a BAFTA award.

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her career. A bright, sparky, witty presence on stage and screen. Her distinguished work 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."

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

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

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame globally.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

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 TV series Emergency Ward 10.

She featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on the show The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, 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 portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.