Why You Should Know Who Fallout's Ella Purnell Is

Early Life & Work

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Ella Summer Purnell was born on September 17, 1996, in England’s Whitechapel area. Growing up, the East Londoner was a creative kid interested in various art forms. At 9 years old, she enrolled in acting, singing, and dancing classes at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. She also filmed a candy commercial. Two years later, she made her theater debut as a chorus girl in the West End’s production of “Oliver!”. Making the leap from stage to screen, Purnell landed her first film role in 2010’s “Never Let Me Go,” playing the younger version of Keira Knightley’s character Ruth. This gave the budding actress a unique opportunity to learn from an industry veteran, literally following in her footsteps. Shortly after, Purnell also played the part of Kayleigh in Gustavo Ron’s “Ways to Live Forever,” a film adaptation of the Sally Nicholls novel of the same name. In 2011, she starred alongside fellow Brit Clive Owen in her first horror film, “Intruders.” While she already had some film credits on her resume, Purnell also joined the Young Actors Theatre Islington to further hone her craft with artistic director Andrew Harries.

It wasn’t until Ella Purnell’s teen years that she started to think of acting, which began as a fun after school hobby, as a viable career. She made her way into the comic book superhero genre playing one of the high school mean girls in 2013’s “Kick-Ass 2.” She didn’t get much screen time, but the actress definitely stood out. In 2014, Purnell starred in the critically acclaimed indie drama “Wildlike” with Bruce Greenwood. Her performance as MacKenzie earned her at least 7 film festival award nominations, 5 of which she won. This was also the year she appeared as a teenaged “Maleficent” in Disney’s live-action origin tale starring Angelina Jolie. Her scene was very brief and this time she didn’t get the chance to meet with the star. Similar to her experience with Knightley, the budding actress worked with Margot Robbie on 2016’s “The Legend of Tarzan.” Although she’s not credited, Purnell was a stand in as young Jane Porter and spent weeks rehearsing with Robbie. Despite this impressive resume, it was in 2016 that Purnell really gained recognition as one of the most promising young talents of the time. She stepped into the lead shoes of aerokinetic teen Emma Bloom in “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” Tim Burton’s adaptation of the book series. The life-changing role was a dream come true, especially getting to work with the legendary Tim Burton, one of her biggest idols. In February 2017, Variety awarded Purnell with the Newport Beach Film Festival Breakthrough Artist Award and called her one of their “10 Brits to Watch.” Her film career continued to grow with more indies including “Access All Areas” and “UFO.” Purnell also starred as Helen Garrett in the Brian Cox-led war drama “Churchill.” The busy year got even busier with her return to the stage in Boundless Theatre’s production of “Natives”, Glenn Waldron’s “Black Mirror-style” play about teens and social media. And as if she hadn’t worked enough in 2017, she also voiced the character Catherine Morland in Audible’s audiobook of Jane Austen’s “Northanger Abbey.”

Back in 2015, Ella Purnell appeared as Megan in Channel 4’s “Cyberbully,” an intense docudrama led by Maisie Williams. The TV movie was her first foray into television, but she would return to the small screen just a few years later, playing Hester Argyll in BBC One’s 3-part miniseries based on Agatha Christie’s “Ordeal by Innocence.” These were transformative years for Purnell, as she moved on from being considered a child actor to taking on more mature roles. In late 2017, she was cast in the role of Tess in Starz’s adaptation of Stephanie Danler’s novel “Sweetbitter.” Not only was this her first television show, it was the first time she played a leading character. And with “Sweetbitter” being set in New York, this was also a first for her working and living in the U.S.. Purnell proved to have a talent for putting on an authentic-sounding American accent, so much so that she’s had to convince people her British roots are the real deal. Keeping with the book adaptations, Purnell also played Lady Maria Grey in Julian Fellowes’ ITV period piece “Belgravia.” 2021 marked the start of her animation era, as she lent her voice to the chaotic Jinx in Netflix’s “Arcane,” for which she snagged an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting. Around the same time, she became the voice of Gwyndala, or Gwyn, in the animated series “Star Trek: Prodigy” and later the video game “Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova.” And although it’s a small part, some fans might’ve caught her speaking in her natural British accent as an archaeologist named Jane in the season two finale of “Invincible”. Anyone who has seen Showtime’s horror drama “Yellowjackets” will recognize Purnell as queen bee Jackie Taylor, the captain of the soccer team and best friend to Shauna Shipman. She managed to make an unlikable, often insufferable character a very sympathetic fan favorite. We won’t reveal any spoilers here, but her work on the second season earned her a Best Actress nomination from the Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards.

Ella Purnell once said that she’s “always felt strongly about defending the defenceless,” and that’s evident through her philanthropy. She’s passionate about using her platform and visibility to call awareness to various causes, including mental health, women’s rights, and education. She worked closely as an ambassador with Educate2Eradicate, which raises awareness and fights against FGM, forced marriage, and honor based abuse through training and workshops. In 2018, she also became an ambassador for YoungMinds, a UK organization dedicated to the education and support of young people and their mental health. She’s been open about her own experiences with anxiety and depression, often reminding her fanbase to practice self-care. She supports the Young Actors Theatre Islington, which offers performing arts classes and workshops for disadvantaged youth. Like most artists, Ella Purnell doesn’t limit herself to one creative pursuit. Along with acting on stage and screen, she loves photography, music, and writing. She’s had some of her writing published, including an essay about mental health in Scarlett Curtis’ 2019 book “It’s Not Okay To Feel Blue (and other lies)”. Purnell made her directorial debut with her 2023 short film “Junk Male,” which she co-wrote and co-starred in with her partner Max Bennett Kelly and others. Fashion also became a bigger part of her life when she became a brand ambassador for Chanel. By far one of the coolest things she’s done was joining Film Independent’s live reading of “Jennifer’s Body,” playing the Needy to Rachel Sennott’s Jennifer.

Anyone unfamiliar with Ella Purnell quickly took notice of her talent in “Fallout,” Prime Video’s live-action take on the popular video game franchise. She plays Lucy MacLean, a young vault dweller with a can-do attitude forced to venture to the surface for the first time ever. She’s met with criminals and creatures trying to kill her, steal her supplies, or both. And she’s also at risk of being eaten by just about anything and anyone. Purnell delivered a fantastic performance and fans appreciated her respect for the beloved source material. It’s an intimidating role and she took training and research very seriously. Thankfully, the series was renewed for a second season. Purnell’s first taste of the apocalypse came in Zack Snyder’s 2021 zombie heist film “Army of the Dead,” where she starred as Kate, the estranged daughter of Dave Bautista’s Scott Ward. She’ll reprise her role in the anime prequel series “Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas,” though the status on its release is still up in the air as of April 2024. Coming up, Purnell is taking on another lead role as Rhiannon Lewis in Sky Atlantic’s dramedy “Sweetpea”, of which she’s also an executive producer. The first season wrapped production in late December 2023. In April 2024, Canneseries honored Ella Purnell with the Madame Figaro Rising Star Award for all her exceptional work in the TV landscape. The lovable multihyphenate deserves all the praise and accolades. And we can’t wait to see what she conquers next! What’s your favorite Ella Purnell role? Did you love her in “Fallout”? Let us know in the comments below.