"In many ways, acting is really like a science to me to figure out the human behavior of any character that I'm playing."
Pauley Perrette (born March 27, 1969 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a retired American actress.
She's best known for playing Perky Goth Abby Sciuto on NCIS. She is also a poet, punk rock singer and advocate for civil and LGBT rights. She has declared being asexual.
She announced her retirement from the acting industry following her last appearance in Broke.
Selected Filmography:
- The Naked Truth (1 episode, 1995): Ilana
- Murder One (10 episodes, 1996–97): Gwen
- Frasier (2 episodes, 1996–97): Rebecca
- Early Edition (1 episode, 1997): Theresa LaParco
- Blade Runner (1997): Lucy Devlin (voice)
- The Drew Carey Show (4 episodes, 1998): Darcy
- Batman Beyond (episode "Golem", 1999): Cop (voice)
- Veronica's Closet (1 episode, 1999): Nicole
- Almost Famous (2000): Alice Wisdom
- Dead Last (1 episode, 2001): Erica
- Dawson's Creek (2 episodes, 2001): Rachel Weir
- My First Mister (2001): Bebe
- Special Unit 2 (4 episodes, 2001–02): Alice Cramer
- 24 (2 episodes, 2002): Tanya
- The Ring (2002): Beth
- CSI (1 episode, 2003): Candeece - Pink Hair
- Brother Bear (2003): Female Lover Bear (voice)
- NCIS (2003–18): Abby Sciuto
- JAG (2 episodes, 2003)
- NCIS: Los Angeles (2 episodes, 2009)
- NCIS: New Orleans (2 episodes, 2014–16)
- Superman vs. the Elite (2012): Lois Lane (voice)
- Scooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015): Delilah Domino, The Crimson Witch (voice)
- When We Rise (1 episode, 2017): Robin
- Broke (2020): Jackie Dixon
Tropes:
- Dye Hard: Abby's black hair is dye; Perrette herself is naturally blonde. At one point, she had an allergic reaction to some of the chemicals in the dye, and her head and face swelled up so badly she had to go to the emergency room. After that, she stuck to semi-permanent things, like hair spray paint, that didn't contain the ingredient that caused the reaction.
- Older Than They Look: She was born in 1969, though you'd be forgiven for thinking she was 20 years younger. She credits using baby oil on her face at night, and staying out of the sun. For whatever reason, half of the internet is plastered with clickbait ads claiming that seeing what she looks like today will "bring tears to your eyes". The answer: almost exactly like she did on NCIS, but a little older and not a goth.
- Perky Goth: Her character Abby is the embodiment of this trope and she apparently shares a lot of interests and personality traits with Abby.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: As Abby, though the hair is dyed. She's naturally a blonde.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's 5'10", and as Abby she frequently wears combat boots that boost her up over six feet.
