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

Her passing was peaceful 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 portrayal of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning motion picture, based on the celebrated stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress along with a Bafta.

'Charming and Witty'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her distinguished work 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 knew all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

They added she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was constantly supportive," they said, thanking her caregivers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Stage Success

She initially performed the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital 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.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame worldwide.

A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and started out her career as a educator.

Her passion for theater inspired her to pursue acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role as a medical attendant in the TV series Emergency Ward 10.

She starred in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, portraying an imaginary performer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theatre.

After a number of stage roles, she employed her regional dialect to secure a part on the show The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, their sons and daughter.

Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.