Ella Summer Reed Purnell (born 17 September 1996) is a British 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).
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).
Contents
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.
