🔗 Share this article

The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old.

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, in the company of her loved ones after living with Parkinson's disease for several years, as stated by her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed film, adapted from the acclaimed theatrical production by playwright Willy Russell.

Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a Bafta.

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family said in a statement: "She was a multifaceted person to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her career. A bright, sparky, witty presence on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those aspects of her personality because her magic was contained in every single role."

They added she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they expressed, thanking her carers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. 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"

Broadway Role

Collins first played the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier Award for best actress.

A year later she returned to the character on the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was released later that year.

Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition worldwide.

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

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a side 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, playing a fictional dancer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theater.

After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to secure a part on The Liver Birds.

Her acting career that she encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

The couple performed alongside each other in a variety of screen projects, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.