🔗 Share this article

Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the age of 85.

Her passing was peaceful in her London residence, in the company of her family after battling Parkinson's for several years, as stated by her family.

Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's award-winning film, based on the celebrated stage play by playwright Willy Russell.

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

'Witty Presence'

Her relatives released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to so many people, 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."

"Her memory will endure as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her magic was contained in each one of them."

The statement continued she was their "devoted mother, our beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love"

"Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us," they said, thanking her caregivers, who looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the peak of her career; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in the UK capital in 1988. She won that year's Olivier Award for best actress.

The following year she returned to the character on the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition globally.

Born in Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and began her professional life as a educator.

Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a part-time 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 striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theater.

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

It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.

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