🔗 Share this article

The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85.

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, as stated by her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's acclaimed film, based on the acclaimed stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives 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 distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew 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 constantly supportive," they expressed, appreciating her carers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. 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 London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for best actress.

The following year she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

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

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

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a nurse in the Emergency Ward 10.

She featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer 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.

Her acting career 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 number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.