While Ella Purnell acted before Yellowjackets, her role as teenage Jackie Taylor can't be ignored. Shauna's best friend has it all: the love and attention of her peers, a serious boyfriend, and a bright future. Learning what happens to Jackie in season 1 of the Showtime series is absolutely horrifying and haunting... and a testament to the talent Purnell has for bringing a nuanced character to life.
The amazing cast of Yellowjackets would never have been complete without Ella Purnell. What does the actress do with her time when she isn't starring on a dark, thrilling series about a teenage soccer team's plane crashing in the Canadian woods?
10 Inside Ella Purnell's Obsession With Traveling
Like many other celebrities, travel is a big part of Ella Purnell's life. She has several Instagram posts about the places that she has been, both in the United States and elsewhere. She has posted about visiting Joshua Tree, California, and has also traveled to places like Paris and Barbados, and captures it all on her Instagram.
Purnell seems to have a particular love for New York City as she mentions it often on her account. The actress shared a photo of her eating outside the famous Joe's Pizza in March 2022 and wrote in the caption, "best pizza in town don’t @ me." This is super relatable and makes Purnell feel like a friend.
9 Ella Purnell Is In A Relationship With Max Bennett Kelly
Ella Purnell has also shared the love that she has for her boyfriend Max Bennett Kelly on her Instagram account. She shared a photo of them on March 7th 2022 and wrote in the caption "Max Bennett Kelly appreciation post" with a rose emoji.
In 2022, Purnell's things were stolen when she was moving in Los Angeles. She shared all about how emotional and scary this was in an Instagram post and thanked her boyfriend for standing by her, helping her talk to the police about trying to get everything back, and just generally being there. This was definitely a terrible time in her life and it's sweet how much she cares about her partner.
8 Inside Ella Purnell's Mental Health Struggles
It's always important when a celebrity with a lot of eyes on them talks about mental health. It serves as a reminder that it's alright to struggle. Ella Purnell shared in March 2022 that after a trip to Paris, she was at home in Los Angeles and feeling much better. She said, "I’ve been stupid busy with work and film school and travel and life and my self-care has definitely slipped and it SHOWS."
Purnell opened up about her struggles in a 2018 interview with The Standard and said that she went through a horrible time in high school. She said, "I have anxiety and have had depression in the past." She is an ambassador for a group called YoungMinds, which focuses on helping young people deal with tough times.
7 Ella Purnell Calls Herself A Perfectionist
While of course Purnell is asked a million questions about her Yellowjackets character in interviews, especially given the twists of the series, she shares more about her background on her Instagram.
In August 2021, she shared an older photo of herself from when she was 24 and said that she was in Vancouver for a job, which must have been when she filmed season 1 of Yellowjackets.
She wrote in the caption that she tends to be a perfectionist and that she has worked on that part of herself: "Proud of my progress, further than I’ve ever been before, but still always too hard on myself. The work will never end but shedding my perfectionism isn’t natural for me."
6 Yellowjackets Fans Relate To Jackie Star, Ella Purnell
Some celebrity Instagrams are curated within an inch of their lives, showing slick selfies and perfect make-up and red carpet photos of them wearing gowns and diamonds. That's not Purnell's style, and that's a great thing, as this makes her account a really fun and compelling one to follow.
Purnell's posts are typically relatable and paint a picture of the things she does that make her happy. In December 2021, she wrote, "I’ve been redecorating my house, trying to stay off social media, my brain is not enjoying having like 4 hours of daylight (but also not complaining, cause like, LA )." She added "charcuterie boards are my new favourite thing," something that her fans most likely agree with.
5 Ella Purnell Likes To Take Social Media Breaks
While the actress does seem to post fairly often on Instagram, she doesn't update fans on her life 24/7, and she does seem to have figured out a healthy balance and relationship with it. That can definitely be tough to achieve.
In February 2020, the star wrote in a post that she takes a social media hiatus from time to time. She said, "I took a bit of time off social media & I feel great for it!!! I always find this time of year trying on my mental health so it’s extra important for me to stick to my self-care routines."
4 Is Ella Purnell A Singer?
Fans who don't follow Ella Purnell on Instagram might not know that she enjoys singing. From time to time, she posts videos of her singing either alone or with a friend.
While it seems that Purnell will continue to act as she does seem to love it, she hasn't ruled out other creative jobs. Purnell spoke about acting in an interview with Crash.fr and said, "In the end, a career is not something that you choose when you’re sixteen and it doesn’t define your whole life. As long as I enjoy it and it challenges me creatively, I’ll do it. But I also want to do a hundred other things."
3 Ella Purnell Produced The Short Film Not A Mourning Person
In October 2021, Purnell posted that she produced a short film called Not A Mourning Person written by Toto Bruin, who she called her best friend. She said the movie is "bitingly funny, touching and dark in all the right ways."
According to the film's IMDb page, the movie is about Bruin's character Charlie who goes to a funeral and has to deal with her complicated life. It's cool to see Purnell exploring other projects outside of Yellowjackets and the other TV shows and movies that she is famous for.
2 Is Ella Purnell A Model?
While many actors and singers start off as models, sometimes someone's passion for acting can lead them to be hired to promote a designer's or store's new collection. And that seems to be exactly what has happened with the Yellowjackets star.
Ella Purnell posted some photos in October 2022 of her wearing beautiful clothing and modeling for the famed New York City department store Bergdorf Goodman. She wrote in the caption of one picture, "Obsessed with this Vaquera look shot by the brilliant @danielpshea. Check out @bergdorfs new season of talented Radar designers on BG.com!"
1 Ella Purnell And Yellowjackets Co-Star Sophie Nélisse Are Friends
Ella Purnell also seems to be close with her co-star Sophie Nélisse, as she wrote in the caption in one post that the actress is "the best thing to ever happen to my Instagram account."
Since Purnell and Nélisse play teenagers Jackie and Shauna, who have a difficult friendship that becomes much worse when their plane lands in the Canadian woods, it's nice to hear that they have a better relationship offscreen.
