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Pauline Collins, best known for her role in the film Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the age of 85.

Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her family after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her relatives.

Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert's acclaimed motion picture, based on the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'Charming and Witty'

Collins' family said in a statement: "Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."

"She will always be remembered as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We were familiar with all those aspects of her personality because her charm was embedded in each one of them."

They added she was their "loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", 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 looked after her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection"

"She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We ask that you recall her at the height of her powers; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

Broadway Role

She initially performed the lead part of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theater in London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for best actress.

A year later she returned to the character on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a esteemed Tony Award.

The movie adaptation was launched shortly after.

Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which gained her international fame 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 part-time basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a nurse 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.

Following several theater parts, she used her Liverpool accent to land a role on The Liver Birds.

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

The couple performed together in a number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in ITV's popular series.