Purl was born on September 2, 1955 in Greenwich, Connecticut, to chemical-industry executive Raymond Charles Arthur Purl and Marshelline "Marshie" Purl. She has a sister, Mara. The girls' grandmother, Beatrice Saville, was a founder of the Actors' Equity Association. At age five, Purl moved with her family to Japan, where her father worked for Nippon Unicar. She spent her childhood there, and trained in acting at the Toho Geino Academy. While at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo, Purl performed in several plays, gaining the role of Louis in The King and I, Bet in Oliver!, and Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. Furthermore, she was discovered by Toho and appeared in several films.
At age 15, Purl returned to the United States. She attended high school at Wykeham Rise School, a private boarding school for girls, specializing in creative and performing arts, in Washington, Connecticut. While still in high school, she had a role on the soap opera The Secret Storm. After attending Finch College,[citation needed] Purl went to England to study under Marguerite Beale[citation needed] before returning to the United States to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and later with Robert Lewis.[citation needed]
After playing a small role in Jory (1973), Purl's first major movie role was in Jonathan Demme's 1975 comedy, Crazy Mama. Subsequent movie appearances have included W.C. Fields and Me (1976), Young Pioneers' Christmas (1976), Leo and Loree (1980), Visiting Hours (1982), The High Country (1984), Viper (1988), Natural Causes (1994), Mighty Joe Young (1998), The Perfect Tenant (2000), and Fear of the Dark (2003).

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