Ellise Chappell (born 21 March 1992) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Morwenna Chynoweth in ''Poldark'' and as Jennifer Strange in ''The Last Dragonslayer''.

Early life and education

Chappell was born and raised in rural

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, her mother was an artist, her father runs a creative agency, while her elder brother went on to be a video choreographer. She was educated at The King's High School for Girls, a private school for girls in Warwick. After completing her time at school she applied for

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

and

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

; however, she was unsuccessful in the applications. Instead Chappell studied English literature at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

, before deciding to switch to studying drama at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, where she graduated in 2014. She took a nine-month intensive course on acting, before moving to London, where she joined the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

and performed in the West End.

Career

Chappell was part of the National Youth Theatre REP Company in 2015, where she starred in ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...

'' by

Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English writer best known for her 1847 novel, ''Wuthering Heights''. She also co-authored a book of poetry with her sisters Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte and Anne Bront� ...

, ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and ''Consensual'' by Evan Placey. She then landed the role of Jennifer Strange in the 2016 Sky TV series adaptation of '' The Last Dragonslayer'', before starring as Wendy Roberts in Anthony Horowitz's

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios ...

series '' New Blood.'' Chappell has also been a regular in the BBC series ''

Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, initially published from 1945 to 1953 and continuing from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was ada ...

'' since its third season, playing Morwenna Chynoweth. She plays Lucy in the 2019 film '' Yesterday,'' and plays Mona in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Young Wallander ''Young Wallander'' is a crime drama television series, based on Henning Mankell's fictional Inspector Kurt Wallander. The series premiered on Netflix on 3 September 2020. Star Adam Pålsson explained that the pre-imagining (i.e., ''Young Walla ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Games

References

External links

Agent profile website page

Official Instagram
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chappell, Ellise Living people 1992 births 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Warwickshire Alumni of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the University of Exeter English film actresses English television actresses National Youth Theatre members People educated at The King's High School for Girls