Pauline Collins admitted giving up child for adoption was 'awful'
Pauline Collins once revealed that giving up her firstborn daughter for adoption was the most painful decision of her life. The acclaimed actress, known for her iconic role in Shirley Valentine, passed away this week at her care home in Highgate, North London.
Her family shared that she died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Heartbreaking decision in youth
In her 1992 memoir Letter To Louise, Collins reflected on the difficult choice she made at the age of 22, when she was working in Ireland and became pregnant with her first child. Being of Irish descent and raised a devout Catholic in Wallasey, Cheshire, she felt immense personal and social pressure at the time.
"I had her adopted when she was six weeks old," Collins wrote. "It was the most awful thing ever to do."
She explained that her decision was influenced both by family circumstances—her parents were teachers in Catholic schools—and by her financial struggles.
"I thought my reasons for doing so were good. They were partly familial because my parents were teachers at Catholic schools and partly because I had not a penny in the world and nothing to offer this child," she recalled.
Reunion with daughter
Years later, Collins was reunited with her daughter, Louise, bringing a measure of closure to a deeply emotional chapter of her life.
Author’s summary: Pauline Collins’ memoir reveals her painful adoption decision at 22, later reconciled through a heartfelt reunion with her daughter before her peaceful passing.