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

She died peacefully in her London care home, surrounded by her loved ones after battling Parkinson's for a number of years, according to her relatives.

Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's acclaimed motion picture, adapted from the celebrated theatrical production by Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress along with a BAFTA award.

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence on theater and film. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We knew all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

They added she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they said, appreciating her caregivers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

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 returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included the 1991 film City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a medical attendant 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 Theatre.

Following several theater parts, 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 a family of three, 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.