Starting from parts on few TV features, Hayley Elizabeth Atwell then made her first feature film appearance in the 2007 "Cassandra's Dream", starring as a stage actress. The following year, she scored parts in two different projects; "Brideshead Revisited" and "The Duchess", which earned her nominations for British Independent Film Award and London Film Critics' Circle Award, both for Best Supporting Actress category.

Atwell's big break came through her portraying role as Peggy Carter in the 2011 superhero film "Captain America: The First Avenger", which was a box office hit and met positive reviews. The London-bred actress received wider attention from moviegoers and won a Scream Award for Best Science Fiction Actress. She, moreover, was also nominated for Scream Award for Breakthrough Performance - Female.

Following the film's success, Atwell was billed to reprise the role in the 2013 short film "Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter", the 2014 "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", the television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", TV series "Marvel's Agent Carter", as well as the 2015 film "Avengers: Age of Ultron". In addition to those, she had also voiced the character in the 2011 movie tie-in video game, "Captain America: Super Soldier".

On TV, Atwell had guest starred on such series as, "The Prisoner", "The Pillars of the Earth" for which she was nominated for a Best Actress Golden Globe Award, "Falcon", and "Restless". The April 5, 1982 born actress, additionally, took part in several stage productions, like "Major Barbara", "A View from the Bridge", and "The Pride".