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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her family.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed motion picture, based on the celebrated stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person 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."

"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 magic was contained in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, 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, appreciating her caregivers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

A year later she reprised the role 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 Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally.

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

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant in the Emergency Ward 10.

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

Following several theater parts, she employed her regional dialect to secure a part on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

The couple performed alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.