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

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's for several years, according to her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the celebrated stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta.

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her career. A bright, sparky, witty presence on theater and film. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in each one of them."

They added she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

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

"She experienced a calmer departure. We hope you will remember her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

Collins first played the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She received that year's Olivier Award for outstanding actress.

A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

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

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame globally.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised 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 side 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 striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theatre.

After a number of stage roles, she employed her regional dialect to land a role on The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had three children, 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 portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.