Purcell was born at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina. Her father, an aviator and Marine major, died when Purcell was a young child. She then lived with her grandparents until her mother married Navy doctor Don Purcell.
She graduated from their high school in 1965 and attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri as a dance and theatre student. After being expelled from Stephens College, Purcell arrived in California in 1967 and studied acting.
She has a sister, Paige. Purcell and her family moved multiple times to different states and military bases. After the military service ended, they eventually settled in Paragould, Arkansas, where Purcell spent most of her youth.
Purcell made her debut as a performer at five years of age, appearing on a Memphis, Tennessee television show.
Casting off her southern accent was another goal she successfully worked on. Purcell supported herself by working in commercials and selling clothes at a disco.
In 1969 Purcell was personally chosen for her first feature film by Steve McQueen in his company"s production of Adam at Six Master of Arts, co-starring Michael Douglas. Asked to explain why he picked Purcell among nearly 500 other available actresses, McQueen said.
In the early 1970s Purcell temporarily moved to England, studying acting in London under the private training of Professor Margot Lister.
During this time she frequently returned to the United States to act in American movies and television shows. Years later, she told a reporter.."I had a great time. I thought it was a permanent move.
But I wasn"t allowed to work there and it became difficult to go elsewhere to work."
Her television work included roles as Billie Dove and Olivia de Havilland in two biopic television movies: The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977) and My Wicked, Wicked Ways..the Legend of Errol Flynn (1985).
She was nominated for two Emmy Awards. In 1991, she was nominated as Outstanding Lead Actress for Long Road Home. and in 1994 as Outstanding Supporting Actress for Secret Sins of the Father.
She was co-producer, and starred in the 1998 low-budget cable-television movie Malaika (alternate title Tons of Trouble). Purcell is on the board of directors for Heart of a Horse, a non profit organization which seeks to rescue and rehabilitate abused and neglected horses.
