🔗 Share this article Pauline Collins, Lead Actress of the Film Shirley Valentine, Passes Away at the Age of 85 The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85. Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her family after battling Parkinson's for a number of years, according to her family. Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell. Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a BAFTA award. 'Witty Presence' She appeared with her husband John Alderton in Upstairs Downstairs, appearing from 1971 to 1973 Collins' family released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens." "Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful 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 "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner" "Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they said, thanking her caregivers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love" "She could not have had a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her" New York Theater She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for outstanding actress. The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award. The film of the same name was released later that year. Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame globally. Born in Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a educator. 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 featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre. 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 encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard. Alderton and Collins starred together in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.