Ella Summer Reed Purnell has become one of streaming television’s biggest stars, yet she never planned to be an actress at all. Born September 17, 1996, in London’s Whitechapel area, the British actress is now 28 years old (as of October 2025). She almost quit acting at 18 to write children’s books instead.
Standing 5’5″ (1.65 meters) tall with distinctive large hazel eyes, Purnell has starred in Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout, Netflix’s Arcane, and Showtime’s Yellowjackets, according to her official IMDb profile. Her career spans West End theatre, major films, and hit streaming series. What makes her different is her honest approach to fame—she admits she stumbled into acting rather than chasing it.
Quick Facts: Ella Purnell
| Category | Details |
| Full Name | Ella Summer Reed Purnell |
| Birth Date | September 17, 1996 |
| Age | 28 years old (as of October 2025) |
| Birthplace | Whitechapel, London, England |
| Height | 5’5″ (1.65 meters) |
| Nationality | British |
| Profession | Actress, Voice Actor, Executive Producer, Director |
| Notable Roles | Lucy MacLean (Fallout), Jinx (Arcane), Jackie Taylor (Yellowjackets), Rhiannon (Sweetpea) |
| Awards | Annie Award (2021), Fargo/Brooklyn Film Festival Best Actress (2015), Canneseries Rising Star (2024) |
| Relationship | Max Bennett Kelly (confirmed 2022) |
| Siblings | Three half-brothers: Noa, Enzo, Leon |
| Residence | London and Los Angeles |
Ella Purnell Early Life & Family
Ella Purnell grew up in East London, moving between Bethnal Green, Haggerston, and the Docklands. She has three younger half-brothers—Noa, Enzo, and Leon—who all stand around 6 feet tall. They constantly tease her about being the shortest in the family.
Her working-class roots shaped how she views celebrity today, as she told The Guardian that East London “kept her grounded despite Hollywood success.”. She splits time between London and Los Angeles but stays connected to where she started. Those East London neighborhoods gave her a grounded perspective that keeps her humble despite Hollywood success.
As a baby, she modeled for Harrods and Dior in campaigns she doesn’t remember. She has photos from those shoots, including what she calls “quite an expensive baby tracksuit.” This early exposure happened by chance, not by choice.
Purnell Education & Early Training
Purnell attended several London schools, including Bethnal Green Montessori, Forest School, and City of London School for Girls. She spent five years as a teenager at the Barbican, describing the Brutalist architecture as “intense.” She wished for “some color! Fuchsia! Color!” during those gray, rainy London days.
She took weekly drama classes at Sylvia Young Theatre School and attended Young Actors Theatre Islington, according to Interview Magazine. Acting wasn’t her passion—it was just something she did alongside regular school. She was extremely diligent about academics, never missing a single assignment or exam.
While juggling school and early acting work, she held three part-time jobs simultaneously. She taught acting, singing, and piano to other students. At 18, she created elaborate Venn diagrams to decide whether to continue acting or pursue other dreams.
Career Beginnings (2009-2013)
Purnell’s professional career started with a West End debut in Oliver! at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 2009. She was 12-13 years old at the time. That production led directly to her first film role.
In Never Let Me Go (2010), she played Young Ruth—the younger version of Keira Knightley’s character. Director Mark Romanek cast her toward the end of her Oliver! run. She studied Knightley’s mannerisms, noticing how she would “tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.”
That same year, Screen International named her one of their “10 UK Stars of Tomorrow,” recognizing her as one of Britain’s most promising young actors. The recognition signaled early industry confidence in her potential. She followed with roles in Ways to Live Forever (2010), Intruders (2011), and Kick-Ass 2 (2013).
Ella Purnell Breakthrough Performance (2014-2015)
Wildlike (2014) became a turning point in Purnell’s early career. She played MacKenzie in the independent drama directed by Frank Hall Green. The role required emotional depth beyond typical teen parts.
Her performance earned Best Actress awards at both the Fargo Film Festival and Brooklyn Film Festival in 2015. These wins proved she could carry a film, not just support bigger names. Critics noticed her ability to convey complex emotions naturally.
She continued building her resume with Maleficent (2014), playing Teen Maleficent—though she clarifies it was “a very small part.” She also appeared in The Legend of Tarzan (2016) as a younger version of Margot Robbie. Working with Robbie for three weeks, she observed how Margot would “wet her lips before she spoke and kept her hands quite still when she walked.”
The Tim Burton Decision (2016)
At 18, Purnell planned to quit acting entirely. She wanted to attend university and pursue her dream of becoming a children’s writer. She had her future mapped out away from cameras and sets.
Then director Tim Burton offered her a role in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016), a collaboration later discussed in WWD on her transition to film. Working with Burton had been her childhood dream—she called him “my number one person to work with.” She couldn’t refuse the opportunity.
She describes accepting the role as “bittersweet at first because it felt like a lost opportunity of a different path in life.” That decision kept her in acting. It redirected her entire future.
Ella Purnell Television Transition (2017-2019)
Purnell moved to New York in 2017 for Sweetbitter, a Starz series about restaurant culture, developed by Plan B Entertainment as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. She played Tess, giving up her university place for the role. The show ran for two seasons before cancellation.
This marked her shift from film to television work. She also appeared in BBC’s Ordeal by Innocence (2018) as Hester Argyll. In Belgravia (2020), created by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes, she played Lady Maria Grey in the period drama.
The Sweetbitter role was produced by Plan B Entertainment—Brad Pitt’s company—leading to false tabloid rumors in 2017. Sources close to Purnell confirmed the reports were “completely made up,” with Pitt not involved in casting decisions. The incident showed the invasive scrutiny young actresses face.
The Streaming Era Breakthrough (2021)
2021 changed everything for Purnell professionally. She began voicing Jinx in Netflix’s Arcane, an animated series based on League of Legends. She also landed the role of Jackie Taylor in Showtime’s Yellowjackets.
Yellowjackets became a cultural phenomenon, described by E! News as “one of TV’s most psychologically layered ensemble dramas.” Purnell played the prom queen captain whose apparent mean-girl exterior hid deep vulnerability. She was drawn to “taking this stereotypical mean girl and breaking her down,” admitting she “wasn’t sure if I could do it in a way that felt tasteful and not tropey.”
Her Jinx voice work in Arcane earned her an Annie Award in 2021 for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting. The character—a traumatized, mentally unstable explosives expert—required conveying complex emotions through voice alone. She also voiced Gwyndala in Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-2024), showing versatility across animation styles.
Ella Purnell’s Fallout & Major Recognition (2024)
Fallout on Amazon Prime Video launched in 2024 and became Purnell’s biggest role yet, with more than 65 million viewers in 16 days, as reported by Variety. She plays Lucy MacLean, a vault dweller who emerges into a nuclear wasteland to find her father. The show attracted 65 million viewers in its first 16 days.
Fallout became Prime Video’s highest-rated series ever. Season 2 was greenlit within days of the debut. Purnell prepared for about three months, including playing the video game, though she admits she’s “not a gamer.”
The role required mastering action sequences, dramatic emotional shifts, and balancing genuine horror with dark comedy. She describes Lucy as “Ned Flanders mixed with Leslie Knope, but she could also kill you.” Filming lasted six months across New York, Utah, and Namibia’s Skeleton Coast.
Executive Producer Role (2024)
Sweetpea on Sky Atlantic marked Purnell’s evolution from performer to executive producer in 2024. She stars as Rhiannon, a woman who becomes a serial killer after years of trauma. The dark comedy gave her creative control.
As EP, she had input on casting decisions, script development, and character design. She focused particularly on Rhiannon’s visual transformation throughout the series. She deliberately made her character “plain-looking” initially, using makeup to emphasize exhaustion.
She petitioned for Rhiannon’s bedroom to be “untouched since adolescence” with boyband posters and cuddly toys. The design choice represented “arrested development” from childhood trauma. For one murder scene, she stabbed a rubber dummy continuously for five solid minutes.
Acting Philosophy & Approach
Purnell describes herself as an “A1 Virgo” and “child actor perfectionist.” When given a role, she becomes “absolutely obsessed with the character and create a whole backstory.” She spends hours daydreaming about situations her characters might face.
She prefers not to over-rehearse before filming starts. She believes in staying present and spontaneous on set. She works with dialect coach Kohli Calhoun for accent work, focusing on speaking from her “solar plexus” rather than nasal passages for American roles.
She’s drawn to roles about survival and extremes. She wants to play “gritty roles, I want to get violent and ugly and desperate.” Her philosophy: “I want to see what’s inside, not just surface level.”
Ella Purnell’s Career Perspective & Balance
Purnell views her career as “a marathon, not a sprint,” telling Vogue in a 2024 interview, “There’s no end goal for me that revolves around success. It revolves around my personal growth and personal challenges.” She prioritizes artistic fulfillment over traditional metrics. She’s comfortable with failure as part of growth.
She maintains boundaries during intense roles by calling friends between takes. She watches TV to decompress. She “messes about with the crew” to stay grounded.
One benefit of being a child actor, she says, is “you fail publicly—and early—and then you lose that fear that I think can hold you back sometimes.” She’s learned to block negative social media comments without guilt. She started “blocking negative people who insult or objectify me” after realizing “I’m a human being like anybody else.”
Awards & Recognition
Purnell won Best Actress at the Fargo Film Festival and Brooklyn Film Festival for Wildlike in 2015. Her Annie Award for voicing Jinx in Arcane came in 2021. In 2024, she received the Madame Figaro Rising Star Award at Canneseries for Fallout.
She’s received nominations from the National Film Awards for Best Newcomer for Access All Areas (2018). The Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards nominated her for Best Guest Actress in Drama for Yellowjackets in 2023. She also earned an Astra TV Awards nomination for Best Actress in Streaming Drama Series.
Her Instagram gained 1.4 million followers after Fallout’s release. Critics consistently praise her range across different genres and mediums. Her career shows no signs of slowing down.
Ella Purnell Physical Appearance & Public Image
Standing 5’5″ tall, Purnell is most recognized for her large hazel eyes. Frequent searches about an “eye condition” find no documented medical issue—they’re simply natural features. Her eyes make her particularly effective in close-up dramatic work.
She’s built a reputation playing younger versions of established actresses like Keira Knightley, Angelina Jolie, and Margot Robbie. This casting pattern speaks to her chameleon-like ability to capture another performer’s essence. She brings her own interpretation while honoring the character.
For the 2024 Emmys, she wore a purple-wine colored Paco Rabanne dress with silver details. She describes her style philosophy through London thrift shopping in Notting Hill, emphasizing going “hands-free” without bags. She keeps her fashion choices personal and comfortable.
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Ella Purnell Personal Life & Relationships
Purnell confirmed her relationship with Max Bennett Kelly in June 2022. The relationship remained acknowledged as of May 2024. She keeps her personal life relatively private compared to her public career.
She maintains close relationships with her three half-brothers despite their height difference. They keep her humble with constant teasing. Her family remains in London while she splits time between there and Los Angeles.
She balances her intense work schedule with hobbies like playing piano, scuba diving, and thrift shopping. She still harbors her original dream of writing children’s books about “magical trees and talking ducks and happy bunny rabbits.” She hasn’t had a proper vacation in three years.
Advocacy & Social Impact
Purnell co-founded Educate2Eradicate in 2016 with former schoolmate Arifa Nasim from Forest School. The UK organization addresses honor-based violence and forced child marriage. She actively works to raise awareness about these issues.
In 2019, she made a public commitment about diversity in her projects. She stated, “I am no longer willing to be complicit in this industry.” She emphasized wanting to be “more conscious with who I work with, and what I work on.”
She also performed in the play Natives (2016-2017), playing a character called simply “A”—which she interpreted as “a universal symbol for girls across the world.” The play explored how social media affects young people. Audience members told her they were “glad that someone put their feelings into words.”
Directorial Debut & Production Work
Purnell directed her first film, Junk Male, in 2023 before taking on EP duties. She played Decency ‘Dee’ DiMartini in the short film. This marked her transition into behind-the-camera work.
She’s now producing Hot Ted, where she also plays Amy. She’s developing multiple projects through her production company. Her creative control extends beyond acting into shaping entire narratives.
Some colleagues have been shocked to learn she’s English after working with her, assuming she was American. She considers this “a great compliment…Well it’s better than: ‘God, her accent’s so shit,’ isn’t it?” Her dialect work proves her technical skill.
Ella Purnell Net Worth & Financial Success
Purnell’s exact net worth isn’t publicly disclosed through verified sources. Her income comes from major streaming deals with Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Showtime. She also earns from her executive producer roles and voice acting work.
Fallout becoming Prime Video’s highest-rated series significantly boosted her market value. Her Yellowjackets and Arcane roles provide ongoing revenue streams. As an executive producer on Sweetpea and Hot Ted, she earns beyond acting fees.
Her baby modeling for Harrods and Dior provided early earnings she doesn’t remember spending. Her production company work adds another income dimension. Her diverse income streams reflect her varied talents.
Lesser-Known Facts
Purnell taught acting, singing, and piano as part-time jobs while attending school. At 18, she created elaborate Venn diagrams to evaluate her career options. She describes her career philosophy as “my job is my main quest, and then everything else is just a side quest.”
She believes “the more you try to control something, the more crazy you make yourself.” Her London recommendations include Netil360 rooftop bar in Hackney (“300 flights of stairs” but “insane view”) and the Tower of London. She also loves thrift shopping in Notting Hill.
She’s currently filming Yellowjackets season 3, where her role shifted from main cast to recurring. She’s working on The Scurry, a horror-comedy about killer squirrels filmed in Wales. She describes it enthusiastically as “it’s a f*cking movie about killer squirrels. It’s brilliant.”
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Conclusion
Ella Purnell represents a new type of celebrity who achieved success almost despite herself. She prioritizes creative challenge over career calculation. She maintains perspective about fame’s limitations while building one of television’s most interesting careers.
Her journey from reluctant child actor to streaming television powerhouse offers a counter-narrative to traditional Hollywood ambition. She’s proven her range across Fallout, Yellowjackets, Arcane, and Sweetpea. Whether she ever writes those children’s books remains unknown, but her current work shows she’s found creative fulfillment on her own terms.
FAQ About Ella Purnell
How old is Ella Purnell?
She is 28 years old, born September 17, 1996, in Whitechapel, London.
What is Ella Purnell’s height?
She stands 5’5″ (1.65 meters) tall.
What is Ella Purnell’s most famous role?
Lucy MacLean in Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout, which attracted 65 million viewers.
Does Ella Purnell have an eye condition?
No, she has naturally large hazel eyes with no medical condition.
Is Ella Purnell in a relationship?
Yes, she confirmed her relationship with Max Bennett Kelly in June 2022.
What awards has Ella Purnell won?
Annie Award (2021), Fargo and Brooklyn Film Festival Best Actress (2015), Canneseries Rising Star (2024).
What other shows is Ella Purnell in?
She voices Jinx in Netflix’s Arcane, played Jackie Taylor in Yellowjackets, and stars in Sweetpea.
Did Ella Purnell date Brad Pitt?
No, tabloid rumors were completely false according to sources close to her.
