🔗 Share this article The Renowned Actress Pauline Collins, Star of the Film Shirley Valentine, Dies at 85 The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the eighty-five years old. Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, as stated by her relatives. Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the celebrated stage play by Willy Russell. Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta. 'Charming and Witty' She appeared with her husband John Alderton in the series Upstairs Downstairs, appearing from 1971 to 1973 Her relatives said in a statement: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her distinguished work 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 aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in each one of them." The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner" "Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, appreciating her carers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love" "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" New York Theater She initially performed the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in London 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 movie adaptation was launched shortly after. Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame worldwide. A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near Liverpool and started out her career as a educator. Her love of the stage led her to take up acting on a part-time 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, playing a fictional dancer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre. After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on the show The Liver Birds. Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard. The couple performed together in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.