🔗 Share this article The Renowned Actress Pauline Collins, Star of the Film Shirley Valentine, Passes Away at Eighty-Five Years Old The celebrated actress Pauline Collins, best known for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the age of 85. She died peacefully in her London residence, in the company of her family after living with Parkinson's disease for a number of years, according to her family. Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, adapted from the celebrated theatrical production by Willy Russell. Her critically acclaimed performance won her the Golden Globe for best actress along with a BAFTA award. 'Charming and Witty' Collins starred opposite her spouse John Alderton in Upstairs Downstairs, featured between 1971 to 1973 Her relatives released a statement saying: "She was a multifaceted person to so many people, portraying diverse characters in her career. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on stage and screen. Her illustrious career saw her portray leaders, parents, and royalty." "She will always be remembered as the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and wise Shirley Valentine - a part she completely owned. We were familiar with all those parts of her because her magic was contained in every single role." They added she was their "devoted mother, our wonderful grandma and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner" "Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was constantly supportive," they said, thanking her carers, who cared for her with "respect, empathy, and above all affection" "She experienced a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember her at the height of her powers; 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 London in 1988. She received that year's Olivier award for best actress. A year later she returned to the character on Broadway, New York, where she earned several awards including a esteemed Tony Award. The movie adaptation was launched shortly after. Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally. A native of Exmouth in 1940, she grew up near the city of Liverpool and started out her career 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 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 Theatre. 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 encountered her spouse John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had a family of three, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard. The couple performed alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.