Background
Atwell was born in London and raised in Ladbroke Grove, the only child of Allison (née Cain), a motivational speaker, and Grant Atwell, a massage therapist, photographer, and shaman. Her father is American, (from Kansas City, Missouri) of part Native American descent, and her mother is British.
Education
Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Career
She is known for her work in stage productions such as A View from the Bridge, and in films such as Cassandra"s Dream (2007), The Duchess (2008), The Pillars of the Earth (2010), and for her portrayal of Peggy Carter in various films and television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her grandmother was Irish. Atwell has dual citizenship of the United Kingdom and the United States. After attending Sion-Manning Roman Catholic Girls" School in London, she took A-levels at the London Oratory School and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2005.
Atwell"s first feature film role was in Woody Allen"s film Cassandra"s Dream (2007), in which she took the part of stage actress Angela Stark.
Atwell appeared as "415" in Administrative Management College "s November 2009 miniseries, The Prisoner, a remake of the 1967-1968 series by the same name. In 2010, she starred as Freya Deverell in the successful Channel 4 adaptation of William Boyd"s novel Any Human Heart.
Atwell played Agent Peggy Carter in the 2011 American superhero film Captain America: The First Avenger. Music Television Networks" NextMovie.com named her one of the "Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011".
Atwell voiced Carter in the 2011 video game Captain America: Super Soldier.
She reprised the role in the 2013 short film Agent Carter, the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and in the 2015 films Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Manitoba As Carter, she appeared in two episodes of the television show Agents of South.H.I.E.L.D., and as the lead role in Marvel"s Agent Carter, which began airing in 2015. She provided Carter"s voice in Lego Marvel"s Avengers.
In February 2016, Atwell was cast to star in an upcoming legal drama pilot for American Broadcasting Company, Conviction.