🔗 Share this article The Renowned Actress Pauline Collins, Star of the Film Shirley Valentine, Passes Away at the Age of 85 Pauline Collins, widely recognized for her performance in the movie Shirley Valentine, has passed away at the eighty-five years old. Her passing was peaceful in her London care home, surrounded by her family after living with Parkinson's for a number of years, as stated by her relatives. Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of unhappy homemaker Shirley in the director's award-winning motion picture, based on the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell. Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe Award for outstanding actress as well as a Bafta. 'Charming and Witty' She appeared with her spouse John Alderton in Upstairs Downstairs, featured between 1971 to 1973 Collins' family said in a statement: "She was a multifaceted person to countless individuals, playing a variety of roles in her career. A bright, sparky, witty presence on theater and film. Her distinguished work saw her play politicians, mothers and queens." "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 charm was embedded in each one of them." They added she was their "loving mum, our beloved grandmother and great-grandma", and her husband John Alderton's "life-long love" "Kind, humorous, giving, considerate, intelligent, she was always there for us," they expressed, appreciating her carers, who looked after her with "dignity, compassion, and most of all love" "She could not have had a more peaceful goodbye. We hope you will remember 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" Stage Success She initially performed the title role 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 returned to the character on the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award. The film of the same name was released later that year. Her other films included 1991's City of Joy with Patrick Swayze, shot in Kolkata, which brought her wider recognition globally. A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher. Her passion for theater led her to take up acting on a part-time basis, and in 1957 she had a cameo role 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. 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 number of television and film roles, such as the series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she portrayed a servant in the acclaimed ITV program.