Pauline Collins

Biography

Pauline Collins was a British actress who taught before she began her stage career, making her debut in 1962 in A Gazelle in Park Lane in Windsor and reaching the West End in 1965 with Passion Flower Hotel. She became well known as the maid Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs and later in the spin-off Thomas & Sarah (1979). She took the title part in the play Shirley Valentine, which brought her a Laurence Olivier Award and a Tony Award, and she repeated the role in the 1989 film Shirley Valentine, winning a BAFTA and an Evening Standard British Film Award plus Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. Later screen work included City of Joy (1992) and Paradise Road (1997), and on television she appeared in the drama Forever Green and, near the end of the 1990s, played Harriet Smith in Ambassador. She was appointed an OBE in 2001 for services to drama and died in 2025.

85years old at death

Born September 3, 1940Exmouth
Died November 5, 2025Highgate
Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22

Movie Career

Films: 10
Career span: 28 years1989 to 2017

Genres

Drama80%, 8 films
Comedy50%, 5 films
Adventure20%, 2 films
Fantasy20%, 2 films
Romance20%, 2 films

First and latest

Did you know?!

A role that slipped away
Collins appeared as Samantha Briggs in the 1967 Doctor Who serial The Faceless Ones. She was asked to stay on in the series as the Doctor's new companion, but she declined.
A first
In 2006, Collins became the third actor to appear in both the original and the new series of Doctor Who, playing Queen Victoria in the episode "Tooth and Claw".
Beyond film
Because of her part on Upstairs, Downstairs, Collins recorded a 1973 single, "What Are We Going to Do with Uncle Arthur?", which her character performed several times in the series, with "With Every Passing Day", a vocal version of the show's theme, on the other side.

Pauline Collins movies on Netflix

The Time of Their Lives2017IMDb rating 6.1as Priscilla
The Last Dragonslayer2016IMDb rating 5.6as Lady Mawgon
Dough2015IMDb rating 6.3as Joanna
Quartet2012IMDb rating 6.8as Cissy Robson
Albert Nobbs2011IMDb rating 6.7as Margaret 'Madge' Baker
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger2010IMDb rating 6.3as Cristal
From Time to Time2009IMDb rating 6.7as Mrs Tweedie
Paradise Road1997IMDb rating 6.8as Daisy 'Margaret' Drummond
City of Joy1992IMDb rating 6.5as Joan Bethel
Shirley Valentine1989IMDb rating 7.3as Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Shirley Valentine1989 Comedy, Drama, Romanceas Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw
IMDb rating 7.310K votes
Quartet2012 Comedy, Dramaas Cissy Robson
IMDb rating 6.822K votes
Albert Nobbs2011as Margaret 'Madge' Baker
IMDb rating 6.727K votes
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger2010as Cristal
IMDb rating 6.349K votes
Paradise Road1997as Daisy 'Margaret' Drummond
IMDb rating 6.86.3K votes
City of Joy1992as Joan Bethel
IMDb rating 6.56.0K votes
From Time to Time2009as Mrs Tweedie
IMDb rating 6.77.0K votes
Dough2015as Joanna
IMDb rating 6.32.2K votes

Worked with

Pauline Collins shares two films with Glenn Close, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Glenn Close

Maggie Smith

Anthony Hopkins

Antonio Banderas

Timothy Spall

Richard E. Grant

Woody AllenDirector, 1 film Rodrigo GarcíaDirector, 1 film

Dustin HoffmanDirector, 1 film

Films together

Glenn Close2 films together, 1997 to 2011
Glenn Close's page
- Albert Nobbs2011IMDb rating 6.7Collins as Margaret 'Madge' BakerClose as Albert Nobbs
- Paradise Road1997IMDb rating 6.8Collins as Daisy 'Margaret' DrummondClose as Adrienne Pargiter
Maggie Smith2 films together, 2009 to 2012
Maggie Smith's page
- Quartet2012IMDb rating 6.8Collins as Cissy RobsonSmith as Jean Horton
- From Time to Time2009IMDb rating 6.7Collins as Mrs TweedieSmith as Mrs Oldknow
Anthony Hopkins1 film together, 2010
Anthony Hopkins's page
- You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger2010IMDb rating 6.3Collins as CristalHopkins as Alfie
Antonio Banderas1 film together, 2010
Antonio Banderas's page
- You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger2010IMDb rating 6.3Collins as CristalBanderas as Greg
Timothy Spall1 film together, 2009
Timothy Spall's page
- From Time to Time2009IMDb rating 6.7Collins as Mrs TweedieSpall as Boggis
Richard E. Grant1 film together, 2016
Richard E. Grant's page
- The Last Dragonslayer2016IMDb rating 5.6Collins as Lady MawgonGrant as Dragonvoice
Woody AllenDirector, 1 film, 2010
All films by Woody Allen
- You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger2010IMDb rating 6.3Collins as Cristal
Rodrigo GarcíaDirector, 1 film, 2011
All films by Rodrigo García
- Albert Nobbs2011IMDb rating 6.7Collins as Margaret 'Madge' Baker
Dustin HoffmanDirector, 1 film, 2012
All films by Dustin Hoffman
- Quartet2012IMDb rating 6.8Collins as Cissy Robson

Awards

Six awards and honors from 1989 to 2001, one of them major.

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Pauline Collins's awards and nominations, grouped by award
Year	Award	Result
Tony Awards
1989	Best Actress in a Play	Won
Other honors
2001	Officer of the Order of the British Empire	Won
1990	Order of the British Empire	Won
1989	Theatre World Special Award	Won
	Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play	Won
	Laurence Olivier Awards	Won

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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