🔗 Share this article

The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85.

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, surrounded by her loved ones after battling Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her family.

Her legacy will be defined for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's acclaimed motion picture, based on the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her career. 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 part she completely owned. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

They added she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her caregivers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

New York Theater

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

A year later she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards 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, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near 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 had a cameo role as a nurse 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 adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre.

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

It was through acting that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

Alderton and Collins starred together in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.