🔗 Share this article

Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

She died peacefully in her London care home, surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson's for several years, according to her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed film, based on the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Sparkling Personality'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her life. 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 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."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

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

"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 reflect on life in her absence"

New York Theater

Collins first played the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for best actress.

The following year 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, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant in the Emergency Ward 10.

She starred in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

Following several theater parts, she used her Liverpool accent to secure a part on the show The Liver Birds.

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They wed in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

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.