Purcell made her debut as a performer at five years of age, appearing on a Memphis, Tennessee TV show. After being expelled from Stephens College, Purcell arrived in California in 1967 and studied acting. 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 A.M., co-starring Michael Douglas. Asked to explain why he picked Purcell among nearly 500 other available actresses, McQueen said, "It wasn't easy. We kept narrowing down the field over a period of weeks until it came to giving screen tests to six of them. All of them were good, but Lee seemed to jump right out of the screen."
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 TV 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 TV 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-TV movie Malaika (alternate title Tons of Trouble).
In December 2010 Purcell launched an interactive fashion and beauty website, BoomerBabes, that is geared towards women over 40 and Baby Boomer women born between 1946 and 1964.
