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Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the film Shirley Valentine, has died at the age of 85.

She died peacefully in her London care home, in the company of her family after battling 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 the director's award-winning film, adapted from the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.

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

'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 life. An intelligent, lively, and humorous figure on theater and film. Her distinguished work 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 knew all those parts of her because her charm was embedded in every single role."

The statement continued she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandmother", and her husband John Alderton's "eternal partner"

"Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they expressed, thanking her carers, who cared for her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love"

"She experienced a calmer departure. We ask that you recall her at the peak of her career; so joyful and full of energy; and give us the space and privacy to reflect on life in her absence"

New York Theater

Collins first played 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 reprised the role on the New York stage, where she picked up numerous prizes including a prestigious Tony award.

The film of the same name was launched shortly after.

Additional movie roles included 1991's City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which gained her international fame globally.

A native of 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 side basis, and in 1957 she appeared briefly as a medical attendant in the Emergency Ward 10.

She featured in the film Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London adult entertainment venue, the Windmill Theater.

Following several theater parts, she used her Liverpool accent 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 played a maid in the acclaimed ITV program.