30 Untold Facts About Pauley Perrette You Might Have Missed Before

Pauley Perrette, ever since her first appearance as Abby Sciuto in the “NCIS” series in the year 2003, has become a familiar face in the television industry. She created the most unique Abby Effect, which influences young girls all around the world to be like her, or more like her character, and pursue careers in math and science. She is extremely talented, be it in acting, or singing, as a poet, which has made her one of the most popular stars in the last decade. Here are some interesting facts about the actress that will make you love her more:

"Pauley Perrette at Comic-Con" by cranberries is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

1.  In July 2020, she announced her retirement from acting, which initially plans to quit acting after leaving “NCIS.” However, she finally took up her role as Jackie in the sitcom “Broke.”
2.  Apart from acting, she is an accomplished poet, author, photographer and spoken-word artist. Her short story “Cheers…” was featured in the anthology “Pills, Thrills, Chills, and Heartache: Adventures in the First Person.”
3.  She supports many charitable organizations, including animal rescue organizations, the American Red Cross, civil rights organizations, and LGBT rights organizations.
4.  In 2014, she was hospitalized after a severe allergic reaction to her character Abby’s trademark ink-black hair color. Perrette, who is a natural blonde, suffered from dire reactions in which her face had swollen to twice its size.
5.  In the January/February 2010 Performer Q Score, Perrette tied in the top three alongside Tom Hanks and Morgan Freeman. She was also the only woman to make the top 10. As of winter 2018, her Q Score was 44, giving her the highest score of all current female television actors.
6.  Pauley Perrette was born on March 27, 1969, to Paul Perrette and Donna Bell, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has lived in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and California.
7.  She attended Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, where she studied criminal justice, before enrolling at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in New York City.
8.  During her time in New York City, she tried her hand at a variety of jobs, including bartending, passing out flyers for Taco Bell, and as well as a cook on a Manhattan dinner cruise boat.
9.  In between these odd jobs in New York, she was introduced by a friend to an advertising agency director, who advised her to move to Los Angeles, where she landed several minor acting jobs.
10.  Among her several guest appearances were, the part of a waitress at Café Nervosa in the Episode “Three Dates and a Break Up” from the season four of “Frasier,” as well as Alice Cramer in the season two of “Special Unit 2.”

"Pauley Perrette" by greginhollywood is licensed under CC BY 2.0

11.  Her breakthrough was with the role of Abby Sciuto, an eccentric forensic scientist, in the series “NCIS.” She first appeared as the character in two episodes of “JAG” which served as a backdoor pilot of the “NCIS” series.
12.  Following her main role in “NCIS,” she also appeared in two 2009 episodes of “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and in two episodes of “NCIS: New Orleans” in 2014 and 2016.
13.  She announced that she would be leaving the “NCIS” series at the end of the 15th season, and made her final appearance in the episode “Two Steps Back.”
14.  On June 7, 2019, she claimed that she left “NCIS” due to an on-set dog biting incident and alleged multiple physical assaults. She also stated that she was "terrified" of her former co-star Mark Harmon.
15.  However, before making it big, she has always been ambitious about working with animals. Even today, she is very passionate about animal rescue and has three rescued dogs.
16.  She had also had dreams to become a rock and roll singer, in her early days. In fact, it was she who recorded the song “Fear,” featured in the “NCIS” episode “Aliyah” – Season 6, episode 25, for the “NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack.”
17.  Perrette was the lead singer in the Los Angeles-based, all-female band Lo-Ball, using the stage name "Pauley P." The band’s single “Can’t Get Me Down” has been featured in the 2001 movie “Legally Blonde.”
18.  She had been featured in the music video of the single "The Unnamed Feeling" for heavy metal band Metallica from their album “St. Anger.” She also sang the 2011 single “Attention Please” by DMC.
19.  In the year 2011, she was the featured vocalist on a song called "Fire in Your Eyes" by B. Taylor, a Las Vegas-based hip-hop artist.
20.  She worked with America's Most Wanted in February 2004 to present the city of Prattville, Alabama, with a check for $10,000, to supplement the reward offer for information leading to the arrest of the person who killed Shannon Paulk.

"Pauley Perrette at Comic-Con" by cranberries is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

21.  She also donated $10,000 to Detroit law enforcement officials in 2007 to be used as a reward for information regarding the disappearance/murder of Raven Jeffries, a seven-year-old Detroit girl.
22.  Most of her character Abby’s history is taken from her real life, like her character used to go through old cars in an effort to find out what went wrong with them in the series, which Perrette often did in her childhood days.
23.  In the year 2007, she began production on a documentary about U.S. civil rights attorney and author Mark Lane, entitled “Citizen Lane,” which was completed in 2013.
24.  She made a guest appearance as a judge on season four, episode six of “RuPaul's Drag Race.”
25.  In the year 2000, she married Canadian actor and musician Coyote Shivers. After staying together for four years, the couple announced their separation.
26.  The relationship ended in divorce in 2006. Following this, she was granted restraining orders against him, alleging that he subjected her to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse during and after their marriage.
27.  In a scene in the “NCIS” episode “Enemy on The Hill,” her character Abby can be seen holding a locket of her adoptive mother. The image in the locket is of her real mother Donna Bell.
28.  She announced her engagement to former British Royal Marine Thomas Arklie in December 2011. The couple had made it clear that they will not marry until Proposition 8 is invalidated.
29.  She was assaulted by a homeless man – David Merck, outside her Hollywood Hills home, on November 12, 2015. He was charged with suspicion of making criminal threats and felony assault.
30.  She co-owns Donna Bell's Bake Shop, named for her mother, located in Manhattan, New York City, along with Matthew Sandusky and Darren Greenblatt.
31.  Pauley Perrette Net Worth: $22 Million