Ella Summer Reed Purnell (born 17 September 1996) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in West End theatre and films including Never Let Me Go (2010), Intruders (2011) and Maleficent (2014). Her other films include Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), Churchill (2017) and Army of the Dead (2021).
Ella Purnell | |
|---|---|
 Purnell at MegaCon Orlando in 2025 | |
| Born | 17 September 1996 London, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2009–present |
On television, Purnell starred in the series Ordeal by Innocence (2018) and Belgravia (2020). She is known for her work in the critically acclaimed series, Yellowjackets (2021–present), Fallout (2024–present) and Sweetpea (2024–present). She voiced Jinx in Arcane (2021–2024) and Gwyndala in Star Trek: Prodigy (2021–2024).
Early life
Purnell was born in the Whitechapel area of London on 17 September 1996, and grew up in the city's Bethnal Green area. She has three younger half-brothers from her mother's second marriage. Purnell attended Bethnal Green Montessori, Forest School, the City of London School for Girls and the Young Actors Theatre Islington. She attended weekly drama classes at the Sylvia Young Theatre School.
At age 18, Purnell intended to pause her acting career and earn a place at university, intending to become a children's writer or teacher. She decided to travel the world for a year to "find herself" but returned to acting when offered a role in Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), which she accepted as it had been her dream to work with Burton. She described her decision to defer university as "bittersweet at first because it felt like a lost opportunity of a different path in life" but was glad to have chosen acting.
Career
At age 8, Purnell starred in a Croatian commercial for Toffifee. At 13, she was cast in a 2009 production of Oliver! at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Towards the end of her time in the show, she was cast as the younger version of Keira Knightley's character in Mark Romanek's film Never Let Me Go (2010). She was then cast as Kayleigh in Gustavo Ron's film Ways to Live Forever (2010) and as Mia in Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's film Intruders (2011). She was named by Screen International as one of its 10 UK Stars of Tomorrow in 2010. She later appeared in the BBC HD short film Candy (2011).
Purnell appeared as Dolce in Jeff Wadlow's film Kick-Ass 2 (2013) and starred in Frank Hall Green's film Wildlike (2014), which earned her accolades at festivals. She played the teenage version of Angelina Jolie's titular character in Maleficent (2014). She then took a break from acting, and returned to star in Tim Burton's film Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) as she had always wanted to work with him. She next played Mia in the film Access All Areas (2017), and Winston Churchill's secretary Helen Garrett in the historical drama Churchill (2017).
Purnell appeared as Hester Argyll in the BBC miniseries Ordeal by Innocence (2018) and starred as Tess in the Starz series Sweetbitter (2018). Starz cancelled the series after two seasons. Purnell played Lady Maria Grey in Julian Fellowes' period drama Belgravia (2020) and began starring as Jackie Taylor in the Showtime drama series Yellowjackets (2021–present). She voiced Gwyn in the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy (2021), and voiced Jinx in the Netflix series Arcane (2021–2024). She began starring as Lucy MacLean in the Amazon Prime Video series Fallout (2024–present), and as the main character in the dark comedy series Sweetpea (2024–present), garnering critical praise for both. She also served as an executive producer for Sweetpea.
Personal life
As of May 2024, Purnell divides her time between London and Los Angeles. She had a relationship with Max Bennett Kelly that was confirmed in June 2022. Discussing her views on fame with British Vogue, Purnell shared: "There's no end goal for me that revolves around success. It revolves around my personal growth and personal challenges."
She plays the piano and also enjoys scuba diving.
Advocacy
In 2016, Purnell worked with her former Forest School schoolmate Arifa Nasim to launch Educate2Eradicate, a UK-based organisation building on Nasim's grassroots efforts to eradicate honour-based violence and addressing the issue of forced child-marriage.
In 2019, Purnell commented on the importance of diversity in Hollywood and wanting to use her platform to raise awareness: "I am no longer willing to be complicit in this industry. Don’t get me wrong; I love acting, I grew up in this world. I’m very grateful. But I’m also very aware of how damaging it can be in its lack of diversity and representation. I want to be more conscious with who I work with, and what I work on. I want to use any platform I have to bring awareness to issues that matter. I want to help people and be a part of positive change."
Filmography
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Never Let Me Go | Young Ruth | |
| Ways to Live Forever | Kayleigh | ||
| 2011 | Intruders | Mia | |
| 2013 | Kick-Ass 2 | Dolce | |
| 2014 | Wildlike | MacKenzie | |
| Maleficent | Teen Maleficent | ||
| 2016 | The Journey is the Destination | Amy | |
| The Legend of Tarzan | Young Jane Porter | Uncredited | |
| Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children | Emma Bloom | ||
| 2017 | Churchill | Helen Garrett | |
| Access All Areas | Mia | ||
| 2018 | UFO | Natalie | |
| 2021 | Army of the Dead | Kate Ward | |
| 2023 | Junk Male | Decency 'Dee' DiMartini | Short film; also director |
| TBA | The Scurry † | Post-production | |
| Hot Ted † | Amy | Pre-production; also producer |
Television
| † | Denotes TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Cyberbully | Megan | TV movie |
| 2018 | Ordeal by Innocence | Hester Argyll | Main cast; miniseries |
| Right Place, Wrong Tim | The daughter | TV short | |
| 2018–2019 | Sweetbitter | Tess | Main cast |
| 2020 | Belgravia | Lady Maria Grey | Main cast; miniseries |
| 2021–2024 | Star Trek: Prodigy | Gwyn | Main cast; voice role |
| Arcane | Jinx | ||
| 2021–present | Yellowjackets | Jackie Taylor | Main cast (season 1), recurring role (seasons 2–3) |
| 2024 | Invincible | Jane | Episode: "I Thought You Were Stronger"; voice role |
| 2024–present | Fallout | Lucy MacLean | Main cast |
| Sweetpea | Rhiannon Lewis | Main cast; also executive producer |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | Lucy MacLean | Playable character in Multiplayer modes; part of Fallout collaboration |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Organizations | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Fargo Film Festival | Best Actress | WildLike | Won | |
| Brooklyn Film Festival | Best Actress | Won | |||
| 2018 | National Film Awards | Best Newcomer | Access All Areas | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production | Arcane | Won | |
| 2023 | Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Yellowjackets | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Canneseries | Madame Figaro Rising Star Award | Fallout | Won | |
| Astra TV Awards | Best Actress in a Streaming Drama Series | Nominated |