🔗 Share this article

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

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

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a Bafta.

'Sparkling Personality'

Her relatives said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"She will always be remembered 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 magic was contained 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"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they expressed, thanking her caregivers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in the UK capital 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 picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation 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.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and began her professional life 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 nurse in the Emergency Ward 10.

She starred 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 used her Liverpool accent to secure a part 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.

The couple performed alongside each other 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.