Pauline Collins, the star of the film Shirley Valentine, for which she was Oscar nominated in 1990, has died at the age of 85.
She died “peacefully” in her London care home surrounded by her family having had Parkinson’s disease for several years, her family said.
Collins will be best remembered for her portrayal of disgruntled housewife Shirley in Lewis Gilbert’s award-winning film, based on the acclaimed stage play by Willy Russell.
Her critically acclaimed performance also won her the Golden Globe Award for best actress along with a Bafta.
‘Witty presence’
Collins’ family said in a statement: “Pauline was so many things to so many people, playing a variety of roles in her life. A bright, sparky, witty presence on stage and screen. 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 parts of her because her magic was contained in each one of them.”
They added she was their “loving mum, our wonderful grandma and great-grandma”, and actor John Alderton’s “life-long love”.
“Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was always there for us,” they said, thanking 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 contemplate a life without her.”
Her husband Alderton also issued a separate statement, describing his wife as “a remarkable star”, having worked with her more than any other actor.
“What I saw was not only her brilliant range of diverse characters but her magic of bringing out the best in all of the people she worked with,” he said.
“She wanted everyone to be special and she did this by never saying ‘Look at me’. It’s no wonder that she was voted the nation’s sweetheart in the 1970s.”
He added she would always be remembered for Shirley Valentine, “not only for her Oscar nomination or the film itself, but for clean-sweeping all seven awards when she portrayed her on Broadway in the stage play, in which she played every character herself”.
Shirley Valentine is a middle-aged Liverpool housewife, who is tired of her insensitive husband, played by Bernard Hill, and her suburban existence.
But her life changes when her best friend wins a holiday for two to Greece. Shirley goes, and falls for a local tavern owner – played by Tom Conti – who she goes on to have a passionate holiday fling with, reinvigorating her lust for life.
Russell T Davies, who worked with the actress on a 2006 Doctor Who episode, Tooth and Claw, posted on Instagram: “It was such an honour to have her on set, I was in awe… Oh she was salty and wonderful, and the finest of actors.
“As for Shirley Valentine, as writer Matthew Todd says today, ’[It] says more about UK life at that time than any history book ever could.’ A true star. And she’d laugh at that.”
Broadway role
Collins first played the title role of Shirley Valentine at the Vaudeville Theatre in London in 1988. She won that year’s Olivier award for best actress.
The following year she reprised the role on Broadway, New York, where she picked up numerous prizes 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, filmed in Calcutta, which brought her wider recognition globally.
Born in Exmouth, Devon, in 1940, Collins was raised near Liverpool and started out her career as a teacher.
Her love of the stage 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 TV series.
Her film debut came in Secrets of a Windmill Girl in 1966, playing a fictional dancer in a London striptease nightclub, the Windmill Theatre.
After a number of stage roles, she used her Liverpool accent to land a leading role on The Liver Birds in 1969.
She starred as Dawn in five episodes before she left to be replaced by Nerys Hughes, who played the role of Sandra.
She also starred in five episodes of Doctor Who, but told The Guardian in 2012 that after appearing in the show as Samantha Briggs in 1967, she was offered another 39 episodes but turned them down.
“I thought it was like a prison sentence. Maybe it would have given me a profile early in my career, but then I would have missed so many things,” she said.
It was through acting that she met her husband John Alderton. They married in 1969 and had three children, Nicholas, Kate, and Richard.
Alderton and Collins starred alongside each other in a number of television and film roles, such as ITV’s popular series Upstairs, Downstairs, in which she played a maid.
Her later credits included a 2005 TV adaptation of Bleak House and 2015’s Dickensian.
She also played Cissy Robson in 2012 film Quartet alongside Dame Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly and Sheridan Smith.
