Stamell first learned to dance at the age of 3 in Sydney, where she learned ballet, contemporary dance and tap. She says it took her until the age of 8 to find a Teacher who treated her properly, as a Dancer, rather than as someone with dwarfism. In 1994, she won the South Pacific Silver Star Tap Dancing Championships and in 2000 tap danced at the opening of the Sydney Olympics with the Tap Dogs. While studying dance, theatre and film at the University of New South Wales, Stamell developed a passion for theatre and acting. She acted in a number of short plays at the University, including Here's to the Small Minded, written by Matt Noffs and Caroline Camino. In the summer holiday of her first year, she got her first major role when she submitted herself for extra work in the film Moulin Rouge!. Her initial casting as an extra led to the part of La Petite Princess being created especially for her. The money earnt from the role allowed her to come to England and study Shakespearean and Jacobean plays. Following this, she performed with some of Australia's leading theatre companies, including her role as King Duncan in Macbeth for the Sydney Theatre Company and Cordelia in King Lear for Round Earth. She has also appeared in the Australian short film Love Hurts as Cupid. She has worked with some the world's leading dance innovators, Caroline Bowditch, Marc Brew, Sue Healey, John 'cha cha' O'Connell, Shaun Parker and Christina Tingskog.