🔗 Share this article

The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the film 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 family after living with Parkinson's disease for several years, according to her family.

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

Her critically acclaimed performance also earned her the Golden Globe for outstanding actress as well as a BAFTA award.

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence on theater and film. Her distinguished work saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"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 magic was contained in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her carers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

New York Theater

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier award for best actress.

The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Her other films 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, Collins was raised near Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant in the TV series 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.

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

The couple performed together in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.