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Ella Purnell

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Ella Purnell
Purnell in 2018
Born
Ella Summer Purnell

(1996-09-17) 17 September 1996 (age 28)
London, England, UK
OccupationActress[1]
Years active2009–present

Ella Summer Purnell (born (1996-09-17)17 September 1996)[2] is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in West End theatre and films such as 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).

On television, Purnell has starred in the mystery series Ordeal by Innocence (2018), the historical miniseries Belgravia (2020), the thriller Yellowjackets (2021–present), and the post-apocalyptic drama series Fallout (2024–present). She has also voiced Jinx in Arcane (2021–2024) and Gwyndala in Star Trek: Prodigy (2021–present).

Early life

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Ella Summer Purnell was born in the Whitechapel area of London, England, United Kingdom.[2] She grew up in Bethnal Green area of her hometown.[3] She attended Bethnal Green Montessori, Forest School, the City of London School for Girls, and the Young Actors Theatre Islington.[4] 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.

Upon finishing high school at 18, Purnell intended to put a pause on her acting career, winning a place at university with the intention of becoming a children's writer or teacher.[5] She decided to travel the world for a year to "find herself" and was subsequently offered a role in Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As it had been her dream to work with Burton, she accepted. Purnell described her decision to defer university as "bittersweet at first because it felt like a lost opportunity of a different path in life," but looking back, she was glad she continued acting.[6]

Career

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Film

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In 2009, Purnell was cast in a production of Oliver! at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.[7] Towards the end of her time in Oliver!, she was cast as the role of Young Ruth (played by Keira Knightley as an adult) in Mark Romanek's film Never Let Me Go.[8] It was released in 2010 to positive reviews. She was then cast as Kayleigh in Gustavo Ron's 2010 film Ways to Live Forever,[9] and as Mia in the Juan Carlos Fresnadillo film Intruders.[10] Purnell was named by Screen International as one of 10 UK Stars of Tomorrow.[11] 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.[12] In 2017, she played Mia in Access All Areas.[13] Later that year, Purnell appeared in the historical drama film Churchill, playing Winston Churchill's secretary Helen Garrett.[14]

Television

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In 2018, Purnell appeared as Hester Argyll in the BBC mini-series Ordeal by Innocence.[15] Later that year, Purnell starred in the leading role of the Starz show Sweetbitter,.[16] 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.[17] It was announced in December 2019 that Starz had cancelled the series after two seasons.[18] In 2020, Purnell played Lady Maria Grey in Julian Fellowes's period drama Belgravia, co-produced by ITV and Epix.[19] In 2021, she began starring as Jackie in the Showtime drama series Yellowjackets.[20] Later that year she voiced Gwyn in the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy and Jinx in the Netflix animated series Arcane. In 2024, she starred as Lucy MacLean in the Amazon Prime Video drama series Fallout.[21] In 2024, Purnell played the lead role in the dark comedy television series Sweetpea, garnering critical praise for her work.[22][23][24]

Personal life

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As of May 2024, Purnell splits her time between London and Los Angeles.[25] She was dating musician Max Bennett Kelly for some time before, since at least June 2022, she started referring to him as her life partner.[25][26] Purnell plays the piano.[27]

In 2016, then 19-year-old Purnell worked with former Forest School, Walthamstow schoolmate Arifa Nasim to launch Educate2Eradicate,[28] a UK-based organisation building on Nasim's grassroots efforts to eradicate honour based violence and addressing the issue of forced child marriage.[29]

Filmography

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Film

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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
TBA The Scurry † Post-production[30]
Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2015 Cyberbully Megan TV movie
2018 Ordeal by Innocence Hester Argyll Main cast; miniseries
Right Place, Wrong Tim[31] The daughter TV short
2018–2019 Sweetbitter Tess Main cast
2020 Belgravia Lady Maria Grey Main cast; miniseries
2021–2023 Yellowjackets Jackie Taylor Main cast (season 1), recurring role (season 2)
2021–2024 Arcane Jinx Main cast; voice role
2021–present Star Trek: Prodigy Gwyn Main cast; voice role
2024 Invincible Jane Episode: "I Thought You Were Stronger"; voice role
2024–present Fallout Lucy MacLean Main cast
2024 Sweetpea Rhiannon Lewis Main cast; also executive producer
TBA Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas † Kate Ward in-production; voice role
Key
† Denotes TV productions that have not yet been released

Stage

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Year Title Role Notes
2017 Natives A Southwark Playhouse

Video games

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

Audio

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Year Title Role Notes
2024 The Seneschal: A Rebel Moon Story Raina, Sabine Main role

Audiobook

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Year Title Author(s) Other Narrator(s) Note
2017 Northanger Abbey Jane Austen Emma Thompson, Douglas Booth, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jeremy Irvine, and Lily Cole

Awards and nominations

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Year Work Organizations Category Result
2015 WildLike Fargo Film Festival Best Actress Won
Brooklyn Film Festival Best Actress Won
Hill Country Film Festival Best Actress Nominated
Gasparilla International Film Festival Best Female Performance Won
Myrtle Beach International Film Festival Best Actress Won
Twister Alley International Film Festival Best Actress Won
Richmond International Film Festival Best Actress Won
2018 Access All Areas National Film Awards, UK Best Newcomer Nominated
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
2024 Fallout 2024 Canneseries Madame Figaro Rising Star Award Won
Astra TV Awards Best Actress in a Streaming Drama Series Pending

References

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  1. ^ Jackson, Hannah (8 October 2024). "Ella Purnell Isn't Interested in the Fast Track to Fame". Vogue. Condé Nast.
  2. ^ a b Lammers, Tim (11 April 2024). "'Fallout': Why Does Vault Dweller Lucy MacLean Look So Familiar?". Forbes. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  3. ^ Nugent, Annabel (23 April 2022). "Yellowjackets' Ella Purnell". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ Aroesti, Rachel (5 October 2024). "'I can't do gore and I'm not a gamer': Ella Purnell on being an unlikely scream queen". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  6. ^ Hadland, Gracie (22 May 2024). "Ella Purnell Is Hollywood's New Favorite Action Hero". Vulture.
  7. ^ "Ella Purnell | Screen". Screendaily.com. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Ways to live forever – The Movie". Waystoliveforever.com. 23 December 2009. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Stars of Tomorrow 2010". Screenterrier.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  12. ^ "Two teenage British stars are set to join Eva Green". Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "'Churchill' shoot begins; cast revealed". Screen. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "'Sweetbitter' Canceled at Starz (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  19. ^ Bahr, Robyn (10 April 2020). "'Belgravia': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ Davis, Clayton (10 April 2024). "'Fallout' Sets Emmys Campaign: Walton Goggins and Ella Purnell Go for Lead Drama, Aaron Moten Submits for Supporting (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Ella Purnell: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Sweetpea". Comedy. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  24. ^ White, Peter (11 July 2024). "Sky's Ella Purnell-Led Drama Series Sweetpea Lands At Starz". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  25. ^ a b Hadland, Gracie (22 May 2024). "Ella Purnell Is Hollywood's New Favorite Action Hero". Vulture. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  26. ^ Rivera, Briannah (11 April 2024). "All About 'Fallout' Star Ella Purnell's Musician Boyfriend, Max Bennett Kelly". Elle. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Interview with Ella Purnell" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Charity to tackle forced marriage and honour abuse officially launched". Waltham Forest Guardian. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Ella Purnell | Host of January 16, 2016 Event". TEDxTeen. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  30. ^ Dalton, Ben (15 May 2024). "'Fallout' star Ella Purnell joins Craig Roberts' killer squirrel comedy-horror 'The Scurry' for True Brit (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Right Place, Wrong Tim". Youtube. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
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