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Shirley Valentine histrion Pauline Collins has died "peacefully", aged 85, surrounded by her family.
The actress, who starred successful the archetypal bid of sitcom The Liver Birds, and became a household sanction successful Upstairs Downstairs, had Parkinson's illness for respective years.
Her aboriginal relation successful the 1989 movie Shirley Valentine, playing the pb quality of the bored Liverpudlian housewife, earned her an Oscar nomination.
'Iconic, strong-willed'
Her household said successful a statement: "Pauline was truthful galore things to truthful galore people, playing a assortment of roles successful her life. A bright, sparky, witty beingness connected signifier and screen. Her illustrious vocation saw her play politicians, mothers and queens.
"She volition ever beryllium remembered arsenic the iconic, strong-willed, vivacious and omniscient Shirley Valentine - a relation that she made each her own.
"We were acquainted with each those parts of her due to the fact that her magic was contained successful each 1 of them.
"More than anything, though, she was our loving mum, our fantastic grandma and great-grandma. Warm, funny, generous, thoughtful, wise, she was ever determination for us.
"And she was John (Alderton)'s life-long love. A partner, enactment collaborator, and woman of 56 years.
"We peculiarly privation to convey her carers: angels who looked aft her with dignity, compassion, and astir of each love.
"She could not person had a much peaceful goodbye. We anticipation you volition retrieve her astatine the tallness of her powers; truthful joyful and afloat of energy; and springiness america the abstraction and privateness to contemplate a beingness without her."
She joined chap histrion John Alderton successful 1969.
'Nation's sweetheart'
He described her arsenic a "remarkable star".
He said helium worked with her much than immoderate different histrion successful TV series, films and West End signifier shows, and had "watched her genius astatine adjacent quarters".
He added: "What I saw was not lone her superb scope of divers characters but her magic of bringing retired the champion successful each of the radical she worked with. She wanted everyone to beryllium peculiar and she did this by ne'er saying 'Look astatine me'.
"It's nary wonderment that she was voted the nation's sweetheart successful the 1970s.
"She volition ever beryllium remembered for Shirley Valentine, not lone for her Oscar information oregon the movie itself, but for clean-sweeping each 7 awards erstwhile she portrayed her connected Broadway successful the signifier play, successful which she played each quality herself.
"But her top show was arsenic my woman and parent to our beauteous children."
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Born successful Exmouth successful 1940, Collins was raised adjacent Liverpool and began her vocation arsenic a teacher.
But aft taking up acting part-time, she landed her archetypal tv relation arsenic a caregiver successful the bid Emergency Ward 10.
Collins besides won large acclaim for her relation successful 1997 movie Paradise Road, which tells the communicative of a radical of women successful a Japanese captive of warfare campy who defy their captors by founding an orchestra.
The movie besides starred Glenn Close, Cate Blanchett and Frances McDormand.
In 2001, Collins was made an OBE for her services to drama.
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