🔗 Share this article The Renowned Actress Pauline Collins, Lead Actress of Shirley Valentine, Passes Away at 85 The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the eighty-five years old. Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her loved ones after battling Parkinson's disease for several years, as stated by her family. Her legacy will be defined for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning film, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by playwright Willy Russell. Her praised acting won her the Golden Globe Award for best actress as well as a BAFTA award. 'Charming and Witty' She appeared with her husband John Alderton in Upstairs Downstairs, featured between 1971 to 1973 Her relatives released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things 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." "Her memory will endure 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." They added she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and actor John Alderton's "eternal partner" "Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they expressed, thanking her carers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love" "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 lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for best actress. A year later she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award. The movie adaptation was released later that year. Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition globally. A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and began her professional life as a teacher. Her love of the stage inspired her to pursue acting on a side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly 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 employed her regional dialect to land a role 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. The couple performed alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid in ITV's popular series.