Ella Purnell
Purnell in 2017
Born
Ella Summer Purnell

(1996-09-17) 17 September 1996 (age 27)
Whitechapel, London, England
OccupationActress
Years active2009-present

Ella Summer Purnell (born 17 September 1996) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress on the West End and in the films Never Let Me Go (2010), Intruders (2011), Wildlike and Maleficent (both 2014).

On television, Purnell went on to star in the BBC drama Ordeal by Innocence (2018), the Starz series Sweetbitter (2018–2019), the ITV miniseries Belgravia (2020), and the Showtime thriller Yellowjackets (2021–2023).

Her films include Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), Churchill (2017), and Army of the Dead (2021). She voiced Jinx in the Netflix series Arcane and Gwyn in the Paramount+–Nickelodeon series Star Trek: Prodigy (both 2021).

Early life

Ella Summer Purnell[1] was born in the Whitechapel area of East London on 17 September 1996 and raised in Bethnal Green.[2] She attended Bethnal Green Montessori, Forest School, the City of London School for Girls, and the Young Actors Theatre Islington.[3] She also attended weekly classes at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, studying acting, singing, and dance, and was represented by their in-house talent agency.

Career

Film

In 2008, Purnell beat hundreds of other girls for a role in Oliver! at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.[4] Towards the end of her time in Oliver!, she won the role of Young Ruth (played by Keira Knightley as an adult) in Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go – a feature film based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro.[5] It was released in 2010 to positive reviews. She was then cast as Kayleigh in Gustavo Ron's Ways to Live Forever, adapted from the book by Sally Nicholls,[6] and as Mia in the Juan Carlos Fresnadillo film Intruders.[7] Purnell was named by Screen International as one of 10 UK Stars of Tomorrow.[8] She also appeared in the BBC HD film short Candy in June 2011.

In 2013, Purnell appeared in the feature film Kick-Ass 2 as the character Dolce. The following year, she starred in the independent film WildLike, which earned her a number of accolades at film festivals, and played the teenage version of Angelina Jolie's titular character in Disney's Maleficent. In 2016, Purnell starred in Tim Burton's adaptation of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, based on the novel of the same name, by Ransom Riggs.[9] In 2017, she played Mia in Access All Areas.[10] Later that year, Purnell appeared in the historical drama film Churchill, playing Winston Churchill's secretary Helen Garrett.[11]

Television

In 2018, Purnell appeared as Hester Argyll in the BBC mini-series Ordeal By Innocence, based on the Agatha Christie book of the same name.[12] Later that year, Purnell starred in the leading role of the Starz show Sweetbitter, based on Stephanie Danler's novel of the same name.[13] She played Tess, a naive 22-year-old who moves to New York City to pursue a new life, and gets caught up in the world of fine dining.[14] It was announced in December 2019 that Starz had cancelled the series.[15] In 2020, Purnell played Lady Maria Grey in Julian Fellowes's period drama Belgravia, co-produced by ITV and Epix.[16] In 2021, she began starring as Jackie in the Showtime drama series Yellowjackets.[17] Later that year she voiced Gwyn in the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy and Jinx in the Netflix animated series Arcane.

Personal life

As of 2019, Purnell resides in Los Angeles, California.[18]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Never Let Me Go Young Ruth
Ways to Live Forever Kayleigh
2011 Candy Candy Short film
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

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Cyberbully Megan Television film
2018 Ordeal by Innocence Hester Argyll Miniseries, 3 episodes
2018–2019 Sweetbitter Tess Main role, 14 episodes
2020 Belgravia Lady Maria Grey Miniseries, 6 episodes
2021–present Star Trek: Prodigy Gwyn Voice role
Main role, 20 episodes
2021–2023 Yellowjackets Jackie Taylor Main role (season1), Recurring role (season2) (12 episodes)
2021–present Arcane Jinx Voice role
Main role, 6 episodes
2023 Invincible Voice role, Season 2
2024 Fallout Lucy Main role, upcoming series
TBA Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas Kate Ward Voice role, upcoming series
TBA Sweetpea Rhiannon Lewis Main role, upcoming

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2017 Natives A Southwark Playhouse

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2022 Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova Gwyn Voice role

Awards and nominations

Year Work Organizations Category Result
2015 WildLike Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Best Actress Won
Hill Country Film Festival Best Actress Nominated
Gasparilla International Film Festival Best Female Performance Won
Naperville Independent Film Festival Best Actress Nominated
Twister Alley International Film Festival Best Actress – Feature Film Won
Myrtle Beach International Film Festival Best Actress Won
Richmond International Film Festival Best Actress Won
2021 Arcane Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Won
2023 Yellowjackets Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Ella Summer PURNELL". Companies House service. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  2. ^ Nugent, Annabel (23 April 2022). "Yellowjackets' Ella Purnell". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Asa Butterfield and Ella Purnell Interview at Young Actors Theatre Islington – YouTube". YouTube. 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Ella Purnell | Screen". Screendaily.com. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  5. ^ "First trailer for 'Never Let Me Go' with Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan". Moviejungle.com. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Ways to live forever – The Movie". Waystoliveforever.com. 23 December 2009. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  7. ^ Cooper, Sarah (14 July 2010). "Fersnadillo starts shooting thriller Intruders in London". Screendaily.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Stars of Tomorrow 2010". Screenterrier.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Two teenage British stars are set to join Eva Green". Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  10. ^ Clarke, Cath (19 October 2017). "Access All Areas review – Hollyoaks goes Bestival in a teen music festival caper". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  11. ^ "'Churchill' shoot begins; cast revealed". Screen. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  12. ^ Billen, Andrew (31 March 2018). "Ordeal by Innocence: the Christie Mystery that almost got away". The Times. No. 72497. Saturday Review. pp. 4–5. ISSN 0140-0460.
  13. ^ Petski, Denise (6 October 2017). "'Sweetbitter': Ella Purnell To Star In Starz Drama Series Based On Book". Deadline. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Ella Purnell on the Starz Series 'Sweetbitter' and Her Disastrous Audition". Collider. 3 May 2018. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  15. ^ "'Sweetbitter' Canceled at Starz (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  16. ^ Bahr, Robyn (10 April 2020). "'Belgravia': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  17. ^ Haylock, Zoe (17 January 2022). "Ella Purnell on Surviving Yellowjackets as 'Queen Bee' Jackie". Vulture. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Yellowjackets' Ella Purnell on the secrets of the show". The Face. 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

External links

Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production
Authority control databases
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