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Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the age of 85.

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

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed motion picture, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered 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 every single role."

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

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

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

New York Theater

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

The following year she returned to the character on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition globally.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role 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 employed her regional dialect to land a role on the show 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 variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.