Ella Purnell

Ella Summer Reed Purnell was born on September 17, 1996, in London, U.K. She began her career as a child actress, participating in a 2009 production of ‘Oliver!’ at London’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Early in her career, Purnell was cast as the younger version of Keira Knightley’s character in Mark Romanek’s film ‘Never Let Me Go’ (2010) and then appeared in Gustavo Ron’s ‘Ways to Live Forever’ (2010) and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s ‘Intruders’ (2011). Her talent was recognized early, with Screen International naming her one of its ’10 UK Stars of Tomorrow’ in 2010. She continued to build her filmography with roles such as Dolce in ‘Kick-Ass 2’ (2013) and the teenage Maleficent in Disney’s ‘Maleficent’ (2014) alongside Angelina Jolie. A turning point in her career came when she accepted a role in Tim Burton’s ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’ (2016), a director she had always wanted to work with, deferring university plans to pursue her acting passion.

Following her work with Tim Burton, Ella Purnell garnered further attention in various film and television projects. She portrayed Helen Garrett in the historical drama ‘Churchill’ (2017) and Mia in ‘Access All Areas’ (2017). Her television roles include Hester Argyll in the BBC miniseries ‘Ordeal by Innocence’ (2018) and Tess in the Starz series ‘Sweetbitter’ (2018-2019). Purnell’s career progression included a notable performance as Lady Maria Grey in Julian Fellowes’ ‘Belgravia’ (2020) and a significant role as Jackie Taylor in the Showtime drama series ‘Yellowjackets’ (2021–present). She also diversified her work by taking on voice roles, most notably as Jinx in the Netflix animated series ‘Arcane’ (2021–2024) and as Gwyn in ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ (2021–2024). These animated roles showcased her versatility and expanded her reach to new audiences, earning her an Annie Award in 2021 for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in ‘Arcane’.

Ella Purnell has recently achieved widespread recognition for her leading role as Lucy MacLean in Amazon Prime Video’s post-apocalyptic series ‘Fallout’ (2024–present), a performance that contributed to the show becoming the platform’s highest-rated. In 2024, she received the Madame Figaro Rising Star Award at the Canneseries Festival, acknowledging her contributions and promising career. Beyond acting, Purnell has also taken on production roles, serving as an executive producer for the Sky drama series ‘Sweetpea’ (2024–present), in which she also stars as Rhiannon Lewis. Her involvement in projects like ‘Junk Male’ (2023), where she acted, produced, and directed, further highlights her expanding influence in the entertainment industry.