In 1996 she moved to Sydney to become presenter on a music video
cable television station,
RED Music Channel. This was followed by acting roles in
ABC Television series
Police Rescue and
Fallen Angels. Together with
Scott Rankin she co-wrote and acted in a play called
Box the Pony, which played at Sydney's
Belvoir Street Theatre, the
Sydney Opera House, the 1999
Edinburgh Festival and in 2000 at the
Barbican Theatre in
London. She then wrote and directed the documentary film
Black Chicks Talking, which won a 2002
Inside Film award. She appeared as Claudia in the Australian film
Lantana for which role she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by Sydney-based
Film Critics Circle of Australia; she lost to
Daniela Farinacci. She appeared on stage in
The Vagina Monologues. She went on to appear in three 2004 films,
Somersault,
The Proposition and
Jindabyne, as well as playing the role of
Condoleezza Rice in
David Hare's play,
Stuff Happens in Sydney and Melbourne.
Wentworth In 2018, Purcell joined the cast of
Foxtel drama series
Wentworth as Rita Connors, a role originally portrayed by
Glenda Linscott in
Prisoner. It was announced that she was one of three new leading cast members to join the series for its sixth season, alongside
Susie Porter and
Rarriwuy Hick. She first appeared in the first episode of season six, broadcast on 19 June 2018. Following her appearances in seasons six and seven, it was announced in October 2018 that she would be reprising her role for the eighth season, which premiered in 2020.
''The Drover's Wife'' Purcell developed stories in different media based on
the short story by
Henry Lawson published in 1892, which Purcell recalls her mother reading to her. She began writing her version of the story in around 2014, giving the woman a name, Molly Johnson, something that Lawson did not do. Purcell's versions centre around Molly, who is left alone on a remote homestead while heavily pregnant and having to care for her four children while her husband is away
droving cattle. She meets an Aboriginal man fleeing police, called Yadaka, and a personal drama evolves. She says that "The essence of the Henry Lawson short story and his underlining themes of racism, the
frontier violence and gender violence are [in her story]." However, she has added stories from her own Indigenous family as well as incorporating her own extensive historical research, which included talking to
Aboriginal elders and owners of property in the
Snowy Mountains, where the story is set. The play won multiple awards, including Book of the Year at the
NSW Premier's Literary Awards, overall Victorian Prize for Literature at the
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, two
Helpmann Awards, the
Major AWGIE Award and several other awards. • She penned a best-selling novel titled ''The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson'', published in 2019. • Purcell was lead actor, writer, director and co-producer of a film adaptation, also titled ''
The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson'', premiered at the
South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2021, released on Australian screens on 5 May 2022, after a two-year delay owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Her husband Bain Stewart is lead
producer and
executive producer on the film, and
Rob Collins plays Yadaka. • In late 2022 it was confirmed that Purcell was writing the follow-up to ''The Drover's Wife'' as a series set sometime in the future, with Danny as an adult leading the story. • The play was adapted into an opera with music by
George Palmer as part of the 2026 opening program of the
Queensland Performing Arts Centre's Glasshouse Theatre, with Nina Korbe in the title role and
Tahu Matheson conducting. • During her panel at ACCS 2025, Purcell revealed she was writing a novel titled ''The Drover's Son.''
Other projects In 2023 Purcell was announced as part of the cast Foxtel/Binge drama
High Country as the lead character Andrea Whitford, Purcell revealed in the
Something to Talk About podcast that she also served as the series cultural consultant. Purcell also appeared in the Amazon Prime drama
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. In 2025, it was announced that the play
Is That You, Ruthie? written and directed by Purcell would returned for a second theatre run at QPAC. In Mid October 2025, Purcell was announced for upcoming feature film
Zac Power based on the successful novels. ==Recognition, awards and honours==