The CBS crime drama NCIS has had countless memorable characters over the course of its 22 seasons. The most iconic of these characters is Pauley Perrette as forensic scientist Abby Sciuto, who was an integral part of the CBS television series NCIS from the very beginning. Perrette remained an important member of the core cast until exiting the series in 2018. Despite her dark black hair, tattoos, gothic style, and love of all things creepy, Abby was a shining light of optimism and joy in a show about violence and murder. Abby’s brilliance and unique style made her one of the most popular characters on television. It was understandably shocking to fans when Pauley Perrette decided to exit the show in 2018.
Abby Sciuto changed the representation of goths in film and television, showing the subculture was more than a phase picked up by moody teenagers, and showed young women that they could successfully pursue careers in science. Because of Abby’s cultural significance, rumors abounded when Perrette left NCIS, some online gossip even attributing her departure to a planned skincare and make-up line, later to be adamantly denounced as false by Perrette. While some details still remain a mystery, more information has come to light about Perrette’s decision to hang up her lab coat.
Abby Was a Fan Favorite From the Beginning
Audiences Fell in Love With Abby Sciuto’s Brilliant Mind and Eye-Catching Style
First appearing in the pilot episode of NCIS in 2003, Pauley Perrette’s character, forensic scientist Abby Sciuto, immediately stood out, her goth-inspired wardrobe sharply contrasted with the pantsuits and military uniforms around her. A brilliant scientist, Abby often saw important details others missed and used unconventional methods to make important discoveries. Before donning Abby’s iconic lab coat, Perrette began her acting career in shows like The Drew Carey Show and Frasier, and used her experience on these comedy shows to add levity to the otherwise dark drama.
Abby Sciuto was a huge departure from how goth characters were typically portrayed in film and television. Abby enjoys death and darkness, but is extremely chipper and optimistic instead of angry and sullen like other TV goths. Creator Donald Bellisario wanted to push back against assumptions about alternative and artistic kids, feeling they were usually portrayed as “junkies, thieves and criminals.” After the Columbine Massacre in 1999, the killers were incorrectly identified as goths, and this led to an increase in animosity towards goths at the time. Perrette and Bellisario believe Abby helped people see goths in a kinder light, that “instead of thinking they’re a thug, they maybe think they’re a scientist.”
Abby Continues to Be a Goth Style Icon
Mixing and Matching Style Elements from Different Aesthetics Gave Abby a Unique Look
Abby Sciuto continues to be a goth style icon, even though Abby would never define herself as such, forever eschewing simple labels. Her style is a unique amalgamation of goth, emo, punk, and other alternative subcultures. Combined with her lab coat and other forensic gear and gadgets, her wardrobe is a great representation of the futuristic goth visuals that were popular on film and television in the late 90s and early 2000s, seen in films like Queen of the Damned and Blade. The juxtaposition of her high-tech gear with the romantically melancholic elements of her goth style is the perfect visual representation of how her character defies expectations.
The most frequent motifs found in Abby’s style are images associated with death and decay, like skulls and spiders, appropriate for a forensic scientist who spends her day dissecting dead bodies. The most memorable feature of Abby’s wardrobe was her penchant for platform shoes. Pauley Perrette loves Abby’s style, but was so sick of wearing platform shoes that, for her following television series Broke, her contract stipulated that Perrette’s character Jackie had to wear comfortable shoes.
Fans Loved Gibbs and Abby’s Relationship
Gibbs and Abby Were Perfect Foils for Each Other
A popular element of NCIS was the father-daughter relationship between Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon, and Pauley Perrette’s Abby Sciuto. The two characters played well off of each other. Gibbs’ rough exterior softened around Abby’s bubbliness, helping to humanize his character. Gibbs also defended Abby’s unconventional approach to forensic science and investigations, attesting to Abby’s brilliance when others doubted her.
A running gag of the series was that Gibbs was a brilliant investigator, but was clueless when it came to science and technology, often saying “reboot it” whenever he had trouble using a cell phone or computer. This led to hilarious scenes with science whiz Abby trying to assuage Gibbs’ tech phobia. The story line also helped attract a wider age range to the show, as many young people could relate to trying to teach an older relative how to use a cell phone.
Perrette Had a Falling Out With Mark Harmon
Harmon’s Actions on Set Led Perrette to See NCIS as an Unsafe Working Environment
After fifteen years as the iconic goth scientist, Abby Sciuto, Pauley Perrette left NCIS in 2018. Abby Sciuto resigned from her job at NCIS after an assassination attempt. Her farewell included face to face goodbyes with all her colleagues, except Gibbs, who only received a letter telling him of her departure. There had been increased animosity between Perrette and Harmon after Harmon began bringing his dog onto set in 2016. The dog bit a crew member, leading to them needing fifteen stitches. After the final episode was broadcast, Perrette wrote a series of cryptic tweets alluding to issues behind the scenes and “multiple physical assaults.”
Due to Abby’s popularity, speculation and theories about why Perrette left the show only increased, and fans often demanded her return to the series. The constant questions led Perrette to tweet again about her NCIS departure in 2019, stating she was “terrified of Harmon and him attacking me. I have nightmares about it.” Perrette continued to insist that she would never return to NCIS. Mark Harmon remained on the show until 2021, and continues to be involved with the show and its prequel NCIS: Origins. Perrette is still on good terms with CBS and remains close to her other NCIS cast mates.
Plenty to Keep Perrette Busy
After NCIS, Perrette Still Has a Lot On Her Plate
Pauley Perrette moved on to several other projects after leaving NCIS. In 2020, Perrette played the role of single-mother Jackie in the CBS sitcom Broke. Perrette found the sitcom about a working mom to be a refreshing change of pace from NCIS, stating Broke is her favorite show she’s worked on, despite its cancelation in May 2020. She felt safe and respected while working on Broke, appreciating that there were more women on the crew and in leadership positions.
Perrette’s goodbye to NCIS was far from the end of her time with criminal justice and science. In 2018, she set up scholarships to benefit female students majoring in criminal justice at Georgia’s Valdosta State University and New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Science. Perrette is proud that the character of Abby Sciuto inspired so many young women to pursue careers in science and math. She didn’t want that to end with Abby’s departure from television. Perrette hopes that “if young people via this scholarship actually go and become more little Abbys out there, then she literally does live forever and so does her influence, and in a real-life way.”
Perrette Will Never Return to Acting
Perrette Finds Happiness by Choosing Reality Over Fiction
Pauley Perrette retired from acting in 2020, but still remains involved in documentary production. In 2023, Perrette produced the documentary film Studio One Forever, about the famous club in West Hollywood and how it became an important part of the gay community. To explain her decision to leave acting, Perrette has said that she wants to be herself all the time. Acting once provided her with a means of escape by allowing her to be someone else, but she doesn’t want that anymore, and that “going back to being an actor would be taking away from this life of true authenticity that I’m living 100% of the time.” Perrette only wants documentaries now because she only wants the truth.
Perrette suffered from a massive stroke in 2021 that nearly killed her. Her experience heightened her desire to live in the present and not escape into fictional characters. In addition to her documentary work, Perrette likes to stay involved with causes that are important to her, like animal rescue and LGBTQ rights.