Pauley Perrette Brings Abby Sciuto to Life on NCIS

Before I go on raving about one of my favorite characters on all of television, I have to admit that I just now beginning to watch the hit CBS navy crime series, NCIS, with the sort of regularity that I watch many of my other favorite shows with.

Having said that, I am now unequivocally hooked on this military version of another CBS hit series, CSI. Being a former military member who is now an honorably discharged veteran, I guess it's only natural that I gravitate towards military shows anyway.
At any rate, now that I am routinely watching NCIS, I have become enamored with one character in particular - Abigail "Abby" Sciuto - played by veteran actress Pauley Perrette.

To put it mildly, Perrette's character, comes off as modern day semi-punk rock/gothic smart aleck who just so happens to be very intelligent and highly skilled at what she does, which is help the NCIS field agents catch criminals with her incredible forensics work.

Sciuto is best known for her gothic style of dress and her, at least, nine tattoos that populate her neck, arms, back and other places which are only hinted at. She is also known for her happy-go-lucky attitude and sweet personality.

Sciuto is a child of deaf parents and loves to play her music really loud and is also able to communicate in sign language, as can Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon). She gets along well with the rest of the team, particularly Tony and Gibbs and is very fond of Ducky.

Abby had a relationship with Tim McGee, which she stated that she would like to keep casual. Although the relationship ended early in season two, she has exhibited jealousy over the attention that McGee gives to Ziva David (played by Cote de Pablo).
Abby is also able to manufacture fake IDs easily - which hints at a misspent youth - and she was also arrested for indecent exposure at a Rolling Stones concert in Los Angeles. Abby is also addicted to a drink called "Caf-Pow" and the rest of the team frequently bribe her with large cups of it.

In short, Sciuto is so likeable - and outrageous - I just had to find out more about the actress behind the character, so, here is everything you've ever wanted to know about Pauley Perrette.

Perrette was born in New Orleans and moved over a dozen times, as a child when her father's job took the family all over the country. Incredibly, in real life, Pauley is a huge fan of education and forensic science and has received her master's degree in criminology. She also studied Sociology and Psychology before moving to New York City to pursue acting.

Working at a number of jobs, including bartending, photography and as a hair and make-up stylist, Perrette eventually found work in commercials and music videos that led to more substantial acting roles. Once Perrette began to make a name for herself, she landed a recurring role on Murder One, and also appeared as Drew Carey's girlfriend in The Drew Carey Show and as the girlfriend of Diego on the series "Jesse". Perrette also landed several guest starring roles on Frasier, Early Edition and Moloney.

Perrette's feature film credits include Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion, The Cowboy Way and the independent films, The Price of Kissing and Angel. She is also a singer and released her first CD last year.

In addition, she has started her own independent record company, GO Records and currently resides in Los Angeles with her boyfriend and several animals. The talented Perrette is also a poet, spoken-word artist, a music fanatic, a fervent civil rights activist, a published writer, documentary producer and photographer.

Here is a list of Perrette's career filmography.
Actress - filmography
(In Production) (2000s) (1990s)
1. Satan Hates You (2006) (pre-production) .... Marie Flowers
2. "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service"
... aka NCIS (USA: short title)
... aka NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service (USA: new title)
- Witch Hunt (2006) TV Episode .... Abby Sciuto
- Dead and Unburied (2006) TV Episode .... Abby Sciuto
- Faking It (2006) TV Episode .... Abby Sciuto
- Singled Out (2006) TV Episode .... Abby Sciuto
- Escaped (2006) TV Episode .... Abby Sciuto
(72 more)
3. Potheads: The Movie (2005) .... LuLu
4. A Moment of Grace (2004) .... Dr. Grace Peters
5. Cut and Run (2004) .... Jolene
6. Brother Bear (2003) (voice) .... Female Lover Bear
... aka Tierra de osos (USA: Spanish title)
7. Ash Tuesday (2003) .... Gina Mascara
... aka Beyond the Ashes (USA: video title)
8. "JAG"
- Meltdown (2003) TV Episode .... Abby Sciuto
- Ice Queen (2003) TV Episode .... Abby Sciuto
9. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
... aka C.S.I. (USA: short title)
... aka CSI: Las Vegas (USA: syndication title)
... aka CSI: Weekends (USA: promotional title)
... aka Experts, Les (Canada: French title)
- Lady Heather's Box (2003) TV Episode .... Candeece/Pink Hair
10. "Haunted"
- Fidelity (2002) TV Episode .... Nadine
11. Hungry Hearts (2002) .... Cokie Conner
12. The Ring (2002) .... Beth
13. Red Skies (2002) (TV) .... Patty Peirson
14. "24"
- 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. (2002) TV Episode .... Tanya
- 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. (2002) TV Episode .... Tanya
15. "Special Unit 2"
... aka SU2 (USA: promotional abbreviation)
- The Straw (2002) TV Episode .... Alice Cramer
- The Eve (2001) TV Episode .... Alice Cramer
- The Invisible (2001) TV Episode .... Alice Cramer
- The Grain (2001) TV Episode .... Alice Cramer
16. "Dawson's Creek"
- Hotel New Hampshire (2001) TV Episode .... Rachel Weir, Ph.D.
- Text, Lies and Videotape (2001) TV Episode .... Rachel Weir, Ph.D.
17. "Philly"
- Light My Fire (2001) TV Episode .... Angela
18. "Dead Last"
- Death Is in the Air (2001) TV Episode .... Erica
19. My First Mister (2001) .... Bebe
20. "Smash" (2001) TV Series .... Charley
21. Almost Famous (2000) .... Alice Wisdom
... aka Untitled: Almost Famous the Bootleg Cut (USA: director's cut (DVD title))
22. Civility (2000) .... Carolyn
... aka Malicious Intent (USA: video title)
23. Batman Beyond: The Movie (1999) (TV) (voice) .... Police Officer
24. "Time of Your Life" (1999) TV Series .... Cecilia Wiznarski
25. "Veronica's Closet"
- Veronica's Little Ruse (1999) TV Episode .... Nicole
26. "Jesse"
- Crazy White Female (1999) TV Episode .... Gwen
- Hickory, Dickory, Death (1999) TV Episode .... Gwen
- The Mischevous Elf (1999) TV Episode .... Gwen
27. "Batman Beyond"
... aka Batman of the Future (Europe: English title) (UK)
- Golem (1999) TV Episode (voice) .... Cop
28. "The Drew Carey Show"
- Sexual Perversity in Cleveland (1998) TV Episode .... Darcy
- Drew Between the Rock and a Hard Place (1998) TV Episode .... Darcy
- Golden Boy (1998) TV Episode .... Darcy
- In Ramada Da Vida (1998) TV Episode .... Darcy
29. "The Naked Truth"
... aka Wilde Again
- The Seer and the Sucker (1998) TV Episode .... Ilana
30. "That's Life" (1998) TV Series .... Lisa
31. Hoofboy (1998)
32. Hand on the Pump (1998) .... Hi-Girl
33. The Price of Kissing (1997) (as Pauley P.) .... Renee
34. "Frasier"
- Three Dates and a Breakup (1997) TV Episode (as Pauley P.) .... Waitress
- The Impossible Dream (1996) TV Episode (as Pauley P.) .... Rebecca
35. "Early Edition"
- Mob Wife (1997) TV Episode (as Pauley P) .... Theresa Laparko
36. "Murder One"
- Chapter Eleven, Year Two (1997) TV Episode .... Gwen
- Chapter Ten, Year Two (1997) TV Episode .... Gwen
- Chapter Nine, Year Two (1997) TV Episode .... Gwen
- Chapter Eight, Year Two (1996) TV Episode .... Gwen
- Chapter Seven, Year Two (1996) TV Episode .... Gwen
(5 more)
37. Blade Runner (1997) (VG) (as Pauley P) .... Lucy Devlin
38. Magical Make-Over (1994) (TV) .... Shannon