Former ‘Ncis’ Star Pauley Perrette Shares Emotional Message After Suffering a “Massive” Stroke

Pauley Perrette left the world of crime solving on ‘NCIS’ following several distasteful incidents. Instead, she now focuses her time on comedy and helping both people and animals in need. 

Suffice to say, the 52-year-old has had a long and successful career. However, everything could’ve ended a year ago when – as Perrette described it herself – she “cheated death.” Through social media, the actress revealed that she suffered a “massive” stroke, and gave her fans a new health update.

Pauley Perrettte starred as Abby Sciuto on NCIS for 15 seasons. Sadly, her ending on the show was quite acrimonious.

Pauley Perrette as Abby Sciuto on ‘NCIS’

In 2017, she announced she was leaving NCIS. Then, just days later, she took to Twitter, where she implied she’d left the show due to “multiple physical” offenses. According to several news outlets, Perrette and Harmon’s relationship had turned rather icy due to a dog bite on set. 

Via Twitter, she shared an emotional farewell:

“I hope everyone will love and enjoy EVERYTHING ABBY not only for the rest of this season but for everything she has given all of us for 16 years,” Perrette wrote. “All the love, all the laughter, all the inspiration…I love her as much as you do.” 

Saying goodbye to a character she had played for over a decade wasn’t easy for Perrette. Speaking with CBS Sunday Morning, the actress said she felt down about her departure from the popular show.

“It makes me sad to imagine a world without Abby in it. It really makes me sad,” Perrette said. 

“I’m still grieving. It feels differently every day, and it’s sad. I usually cry in my car every day when I drive to work. And then I usually cry on my way home at some point. And then I take a deep breath and I go, ‘Alright’.”

In 2019, she wrote on Twitter that she was “never going back to NCIS“, adding that she was “terrified” of lead actor Mark Harmon.

Is Pauley Perrette returning to ‘NCIS’?

Yet though Pauley made it clear that she never wants to return to NCIS, series boss Steven D Binder suggested that there might be a way to bring back the fan favorite in the future.

Binder said fans would start seeing her presence more in the coming seasons. Moreover, the showrunner added that they want to acknowledge her legacy on the show.

“I’d like to start feeling her [presence] a little more. I thought we were a little remiss in not [doing that sooner], but there are so many moving parts,” Binder said.

“But she is still out there fighting the good fight and watching us, and she is a part of us and we’re a part of her.”

Now, Pauley’s been through a lot during the last decade, and though she’s not defined by it, NCIS definitely played a big part in shaping her.

“This show restored my faith in people, in this industry. SO GRATEFUL I worked with this cast & crew,” she wrote on Twitter. “Best people I’ve EVER worked with. Healed me. Changed me. Made me whole. So Blessed.”

Speaking with USA Today, she declined to discuss her tweets further.

“That is a part of my past now, and it’s nothing that I have any need to talk about again, other than one thing: I’m certainly grateful for having the opportunity to play that character and I always will be,” she said.