Pauley Perrette is done. No, really.
For the better part of two decades, we knew her as the pigtail-wearing, Caf-Pow-chugging forensic wiz Abby Sciuto. She was the heart of NCIS. Then, she vanished from the spotlight, leaving a trail of cryptic tweets and rumors in her wake. Recently, she made it official in a way that feels final: Pauley Perrette says she will not return to acting, and she isn't looking back.
It’s a gut punch for fans who spent 15 seasons watching her solve crimes. We all secretly hoped for a surprise cameo in one of the many NCIS spinoffs. But Perrette says that life—the "actor life"—was more of an escape than a reality. Now, she’s chasing something she calls "authenticity."
Honestly, it’s a bit of a heavy shift.
The "Escapism" of Being Abby Sciuto
Acting wasn't just a job for Perrette; it was a drug. That’s her own word for it. In a candid 2024 interview with Hello! Magazine, she admitted that being someone else allowed her to hide from her own problems.
"Being an actor, especially at certain points in my life, was a great escape," she shared. "It’s like a drug because I didn’t have to be me."
Think about that for a second. You spend fifteen years in a lab coat, playing a character who is brilliant and beloved, while your actual life feels like it's falling apart. Perrette has been through the wringer: a terrifying domestic situation in the early 2000s, a random physical assault by a homeless man in 2015, and a massive stroke in 2021.
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Abby Sciuto didn't have to deal with a stroke. Abby didn't have to deal with trauma. Perrette did.
By stepping away, she’s basically saying she’s tired of wearing a mask. She wants to be herself 100% of the time, even if that self is "the tiny little simple human" she described in her retirement announcement.
Why the NCIS Door Is Bolted Shut
There’s no way to talk about her retirement without mentioning the Mark Harmon drama. This wasn't just a "creative differences" situation. It was messy.
It started with a dog. Harmon’s dog bit a crew member in 2016, requiring 15 stitches. Perrette, a huge animal advocate, reportedly felt the dog shouldn't be allowed back on set. Tensions exploded. By the end of her run, the two stars weren't even filming scenes in the same room.
She eventually tweeted that she was "terrified" of Harmon and had "nightmares" about him.
"NO I AM NOT COMING BACK! EVER! (Please stop asking?)" she wrote back in 2019.
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Even though Harmon has since moved on from the main series, the bridge hasn't just been burned; it’s been demolished. CBS tried to play nice, saying they worked to find a "resolution," but Perrette’s version of the story involves "multiple physical assaults" on set. Whether or not that ever gets fully litigated in the court of public opinion, the result is the same: the lab is empty.
Life After the Camera: Documentaries and Advocacy
If she’s not acting, what is she doing? She’s producing.
But don't expect a sitcom. Perrette is strictly into documentaries now. She executive produced Studio One Forever, a film about an iconic West Hollywood gay disco. She says she only watches documentaries because she wants the "truth."
It makes sense. If you spent your whole career feeling like you were "escaping" into fiction, the only antidote is the raw, unscripted reality of a documentary.
What Perrette is focused on now:
- Documentary Production: Telling stories that have social weight and historical value.
- Animal Rescue: She has a long history of supporting no-kill shelters and the SPCA.
- LGBTQ+ Activism: Being a vocal ally and using her platform for civil rights.
- Recovery: Rebuilding her health and strength after her 2021 stroke.
She’s also living off that NCIS money, and honestly, good for her. Some reports suggest her estate is worth over $20 million. She’s not working because she has to; she’s not working because she simply doesn't want to.
The Stroke That Changed Everything
In September 2022, Perrette dropped a bombshell: she had suffered a "massive" stroke a year prior.
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She woke up with no feeling on the right side of her body. She thought she’d just slept funny. Her doctor told her if she didn't get to the ER, she probably wouldn't make it to 5:00 PM.
Surviving something like that changes your math. The "good and the bad and the painful" of real life suddenly feels a lot more precious than a call time at 5:00 AM on a soundstage. She’s lucky to be alive, and she knows it.
Is There Any Chance of a Return?
People keep asking. CBS executives have even said she’s "always welcome."
But Perrette’s stance is firm. For her, acting is a regressive step. It would mean going back to a version of herself that needed to hide. She’s 56 years old (as of 2025) and she’s finally comfortable in her own skin—minus the black hair dye, which she turned out to be dangerously allergic to anyway.
If you're a fan, the best way to support her isn't by demanding a reboot. It’s by checking out the documentaries she’s putting her heart into. She’s finally living her "life of true authenticity," and that’s a better ending than any scriptwriter could have given Abby.
Actionable Insight for Fans:
If you want to keep up with Pauley's actual work today, follow her social media for updates on her documentary projects like Studio One Forever. If you're looking for that "Abby" fix, your best bet is streaming old episodes on Paramount+—because according to Perrette, that chapter is officially closed.