🔗 Share this article

Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the eighty-five years old.

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, in the company of her loved ones after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning film, adapted from the celebrated stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress along with a Bafta.

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"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 parts of her because her charm was embedded in every single role."

They added 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 always there for us," they expressed, appreciating her carers, 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 allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

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

A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was released later that year.

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

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near 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 starred 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 used her Liverpool accent to land a role on The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.