Fennell was born inHammersmith inLondon to jewellery designerTheo Fennell and author Louise Fennell (née MacGregor).[4]Her sister, Coco Fennell, is a fashion designer.[5][6]
Fennell was educated atMarlborough College, apublic school in Marlborough, Wiltshire.[7] She then studied English atGreyfriars, Oxford, where she acted in university plays. Fennell was, writes journalist K.J. Yossman, "part of a rarefied...social set whose family names I recognized from gossip columns and history books… Balfour, Frost, von Bismarck, Guinness, Shaffer."[8] At Oxford, Fennell was spotted by Lindy King of United Agents.[9]
Fennell made her acting debut in 2007, appearing in an episode of the crime drama seriesTrial & Retribution. In 2008, Fennell was commissioned to write a film script, co-produced byMadeleine Lloyd Webber. TitledChukka, it was a romantic comedy about a group of teenagers who fight the closure of their school by taking on the rich kids at polo.[9] She went on to guest star in episodes of the comedy dramaNew Tricks and the period dramaAny Human Heart, both in 2010. Also that year, she made her feature film debut in the crime dramaMr Nice.
Fennell at a public reading ofShiverton Hall in 2013
In 2013, Fennell appeared in the comedy seriesBlandings and the television filmThe Lady Vanishes. She then gained prominence for her starring role as Nurse Patsy Mount in theBBC One period drama seriesCall the Midwife (2013–2017),[10] dyeing her blonde hair red for the role.[11] Fennell's first novel, a children's fantasy titledShiverton Hall, was published byBloomsbury Children's Books in January 2013.[12][13] It was first released as anebook by Bloomsbury USA in December 2012.[13] A sequel, titledThe Creeper, was published mid-2014. ISFDB catalogues them as theShiverton Hall series.[13] The novel was shortlisted for theWaterstones Children's Book Prize in 2014. She then released the novelMonsters in September 2015,[14] her first adult horror book.[15] Also in 2015, she appeared in the period drama filmThe Danish Girl and the fantasy filmPan.
In 2016, Fennell wrote two episodes of the sitcomDrifters and also appeared in an episode as Lizzie. She then guest starred asAda Lovelace in an episode of the period drama seriesVictoria (2017) and appeared asVanessa Bell in the filmVita & Virginia (2018).
In July 2018, it was announced that Fennell was hired by her close friendPhoebe Waller-Bridge as head writer for the second season of the BBC spy thriller seriesKilling Eve, replacing Waller-Bridge, who remained as a producer. Fennell wrote six episodes for the season and also became one of the show's executive producers.[16] Speaking toThe New York Times, Fennell said "Phoebe [Waller-Bridge] and I had worked together in the past, and we’ve been friends for nearly 10 years. We met on a film —Albert Nobbs — which we both had tiny parts in. I started in the very early days as a writer in the Season 2 writer's room. Because it's such an unusual show, they did a very loose writers' room for a week just to see, and then wonderfully and luckily for me they promoted me to head writer."[17] The second season began broadcast in April 2019.[18] At the71st Primetime Emmy Awards, Fennell was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series as a producer and thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode "Nice and Neat".[19]
In January 2019, it was announced Fennell would produce, write and direct the comedy thriller filmPromising Young Woman, starringCarey Mulligan.[21] Production began in March 2019.[22] Fennell was seven months pregnant during the 23-day shoot.[23] The movie premiered at the2020 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim[24] with, as of August 2023, a 90% score onRotten Tomatoes, and a critical consensus of: "A boldly provocative, timely thriller,Promising Young Woman is an auspicious feature debut for writer-director Emerald Fennell -- and a career highlight for Carey Mulligan."[24] Fennell made a brief uncredited appearance in the film as the host of a 'blowjob lip' make-up tutorial video. She also produced the film with, amongst others,Margot Robbie and herLuckyChap Entertainment production company. The film went on to earn fiveAcademy Award nominations, includingBest Picture,Best Director, andBest Original Screenplay for Fennell. She became one of only seven women, and the first British woman, to earn a nomination in the directing category.[25][26] As well, Fennell's directing nomination alongside that ofChloé Zhao marked the first instance of two women earning directing nominations in the same year.[27] For the film, she received Best Original Screenplay awards at theCritics Choice Awards, theWriters Guild of America Awards, and theAcademy Awards.[25]
In January 2020,Andrew Lloyd Webber announced he would collaborate with Fennell on the musicalCinderella, which opened in London in August 2021.[28] TheWest End production received generally positive reviews from critics.[29] It made the transfer toBroadway in 2023, entitledBad Cinderella, with Fennell's original book adapted by playwright Alexis Scheer. Naveen Kumar forVariety criticized the revised book, writing, "[it's] an illogical head-scratcher, despite being based on a story most everyone knows".[30] The show closed in June 2023.[31]
On 22 March 2021, Fennell was attached to write aZatanna film for Warner Brothers, set in theDC Extended Universe.[32] On 18 May 2021,Mark Millar revealed that Fennell had written the latest screenplay of the film adaptation of his comicNemesis.[33] In 2023, Fennell toldThe New Yorker Radio Hour that she is no longer attached to either film.[34]
In July 2022, Cuban-Spanish actressAna de Armas stated in an interview withElle that Fennell was hired to contribute to the script of theJohn Wick spin-off filmBallerina as one of its writers.[35] The film was released in June 2025.[36]
In July 2024, she announced that her next film would be an adaptation ofEmily Brontë’s novelWuthering Heights. It was announced thatMargot Robbie andJacob Elordi would be starring as Cathy and Heathcliff respectively, casting that was widely criticized online due to Robbie being cast as a teenage protagonist and Elordi playing a role described as "dark-skinned" in the original novel.[42]
Fennell's husband is film and advertising director and producer Chris Vernon. The couple have two children, the elder of whom is a son who was born in 2019.[43][23][6][44] She confirmed that she was pregnant with their second child at the93rd Academy Awards in April 2021.[45][46]
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