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The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85.

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her loved ones after battling Parkinson's for several years, according to her family.

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

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

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty."

"She will always be remembered as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained 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"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they said, appreciating her carers, 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 give us the space and privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

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 the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a nurse 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 Theatre.

Following several theater parts, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on 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.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other 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.