The Renowned Actress Pauline Collins, Lead Actress of Shirley Valentine, Passes Away at Eighty-Five Years Old
Pauline Collins, widely recognized 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 for a number of years, as stated by her relatives.
Collins will be best remembered for her depiction of disgruntled housewife Shirley in the director's acclaimed motion picture, based on the celebrated stage play by playwright Willy Russell.
Her praised acting also earned her the Golden Globe for best actress as well as a BAFTA award.
'Sparkling Personality'
Collins' family released a statement saying: "Pauline was so many things to countless individuals, portraying diverse characters in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence on theater and film. Her illustrious career saw her play politicians, mothers and queens."
"Her memory will endure as the legendary, determined, lively, and insightful Shirley Valentine - a role that she made all her own. We knew all those parts of her because her magic was contained in each one of them."
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 expressed, appreciating her caregivers, who cared for 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; radiant and energetic; and allow us privacy to contemplate a life without her"
Stage Success
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 outstanding actress.
A year later she reprised the role on the New York stage, where she earned several awards including a prestigious Tony award.
The movie adaptation was released later that year.
Her other films included the 1991 film City of Joy with actor Patrick Swayze, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition globally.
A native of Exmouth in 1940, Collins was raised near the city of Liverpool and started out her career 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 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 Theater.
Following several theater parts, she employed her regional dialect to land a role on The Liver Birds.
Her acting career that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, 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 ITV's popular series.
