Purdy grew up in San Antonio, Texas.[1] Her father was a Spanish teacher and the family lived for several years in Guadalajara, Mexico.[2] In 2012, Purdy became depressed and suffered anxiety whilst working as a writer on the Cougar Town television series. She became concerned that she might have schizophrenia since her grandmother and two grand-uncles had schizophrenia.[3] After trying various treatments, Purdy finally found benefits in indigenous and Ayurvedic medicines.[1][3] She graduated from Wesleyan University in 2001.
Career
Purdy began her career in television writing for shows such as Cold Case and Mad TV in the mid-2000s.[4]
Purdy co-created a new animated television series called Undone in 2019, with her BoJack Horseman collaborator Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The eight half hour episodes were screened on Amazon Prime Video. Undone was Amazon's first original animated series and was made using the rotoscoping technique.[7] Purdy drew upon her own experiences of mental illness in plotting the themes of the show.[8]
In late 2019, Amazon announced that Undone had been renewed for a second season and that Purdy had signed an exclusive deal. No details of the latter agreement were released.[9]
